All Within My Hands
by Edgehog Jeremy
Summary: Shadow is ousted from the band, Controlling Chaos, formed by him, Tails, Knuckles, and Sonic. Now alone Shadow is living a dull life working at a boring job in Metropolis while Controlling Chaos reaches the pinnacle of success. However, when a certain pink hedgehog recognizes Shadow, his life gets turned upside down and he may just realize that he can still reignite his career.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Alright so this is my attempt at completing my first fanfiction so bare with me if this story starts out rough but believe me when I say it will get a lot better. Rates and reviews would be greatly appreciated and any ideas that you guys might have on which direction the story should go would also help out since I have a basic idea of where this story is going to go but I could always change it up. Well here we go! All Within My Hands starts now.

Prologue:

A pair of crimson eyes stared at the TV, solemnly watching the Controlling Chaos concert from years ago transpire on the screen. The eyes belonged to former rockstar Shadow the Hedgehog who now lived a quiet and dull life on the outskirts of Metropolis thanks to his former bandmates who were now flashing across the screen.

"Sonic." Shadow mumbled angrily as a blue hedgehog suddenly appeared after the camera had turned away from Shadow, who was singing and playing the rhythm guitar. Sonic was in the limelight now as he walked confidently to the right side of the stage and began to dazzle the audience with a melodic guitar solo reminiscent of an 80's power ballad. The crowd exploded as Sonic continued to play and when his solo ended, the camera panned out so that the whole stage was visible and Sonic made his way back towards center stage alongside Shadow as Tails held his notes on the bass and stood next to the neon red drum kit manned by Knuckles the Echidna.

"Knucklehead." Shadow scoffed, remembering the nickname that they used to taunt Knuckles with when Shadow was still in the band. Knuckles was a bit dense but man could that guy just go on the drums, Shadow recalled. He was in a world of his own every time he played, it was like hearing a machine gun when he did a drum fill. Suddenly the band stopped playing as Shadow held the mic stand up and pointed the mic at the audience, gesturing for the audience to sing the next part of the song. Shadow still clutched his guitar as the place fell erupted into a wall of voices as Knuckles just tapped lightly on the cymbal to keep the guys in time of when to enter.

"Because I'll never leave, and you'll always be mine

Until I lose the will to breathe

These two hearts, will forever beat in time

On and On

Will you let me have all of you

For all eternity

Because if you do, I swear it's true

I'll be your remedy

Just hear this melody

It will come to you in good time"

Shadow couldn't help it, he let a small smirk appear on his face as he watched the crowd on the TV sing along to the song, his song. It was a catchy tune that he had written a long time ago while he and the rest of the band jammed in Sonic's garage back in high school. "In Time" would eventually become a staple song of theirs and they would always play it at the end of their set. Shadow snapped out of his thoughts and continued to watch the remainder of the concert, ending with the crowd cheering as the song came to it's close. The lights dimmed as the Sonic, Tails, and Shadow took off their instruments and with Knuckles in tow headed backstage. The footage ended and the disc ejected from the DVD player. Shadow still dwelled on the couch not wanting to move. Mixed emotions coursing through his brain caused a scowl to appear on his face.

"To think that those fakers could make it without me." The ebony hedgehog growled as he got up off of his couch to retrieve the disc from his DVD player.. He grabbed the disc, his frown deepening as he read the words scribbled on the blank disc, "Controlling Chaos: Live from Metro Pine". Shadow sighed as he put the disc back into it's case and turned the TV off, plunging the entire room into darkness.

"That was the last show I ever played, didn't think it was going to end the way it did. I don't know why I can't just move on." The words hung in the air like fog, why couldn't he just move on? Was it because he was just so close to them that he didn't know what to do without them? Was it because he was mostly the brains of the group, writing the songs, writing the riffs, and handling the burden of finding gigs? Was it because to him they were like brothers? Shadow rubbed his temple as the questions continued to flood his mind. Now irritated that he couldn't answer his own childish questions he began to climb the stairs of his two story house to go to his room. I don't know why I still watch that damn concert, Shadow thought. He remembered the day he received it in the mail because it was a week after the band had ousted him. He had opened his mailbox to find a small package with a note attached to it. Shadow read the words on the note, "No hard feelings?" The question made Shadow go into a state of seething anger and he almost threw away the package immediately, almost. He was curious to see what those sell outs had given him that could even remotely make it up to him and when he had gone inside and opened the box he pulled out the DVD that contained their last concert in its entirety. Looking back on that day now Shadow felt relieved that the band still acknowledged his existence but now that feeling was bittersweet as now after fifteen years he had fallen off the band's radar as the climbed to the pinnacle of success. He felt betrayed to know that they, his band, his friends, practically his brothers, had cut him out just to have a taste of success that others before them had experienced just devastated him, not like he would ever show it to anyone, Shadow scoffed. After the band had tossed him aside Shadow had gone back to the outskirts of Metropolis where he had lived previously during high school. He had worked at a gas station just a few blocks away and paid for the house and all the bills along with it. It was a rundown piece of crap but to Shadow it was home. The weathered down, white colored house had once been home to some of the wildest parties. Shadow gave a faint smile as he remembered that after the gigs that they had performed at (good or bad) they would invite everyone back to Shadow's house and would concoct a wonderful mix of booze, rock n roll, and women. However, the house had now fallen dormant with it's only resident Shadow finding solitude within its silence. Shadow hung his head low as he walked to the end of the hallway and opened the door to his room, flicking on the lightswitch Shadow covered his eyes as light filled the room. After letting his eyes adjust for a couple of seconds, Shadow glared at his alarm clock, the bright red digits read 1:30 a.m. Shadow then sat down on the corner of his mattress and looked around his room. Posters of various bands decorated the walls, Ratt, Van Halen, Accept, and Quiet Riot were a few of them. The walls themselves were a blood red color and the floor was littered with various pieces of notebook paper and guitar books. A bookshelf next to the closet held a massive collection of CD's and the bedside table next to Shadow had numerous guitar picks from the Fender brand laying about on it's surface. Right next to his bedside table stood his pride and joy, his Jackson guitar. The jet black color made it look sleek and gave it a metallic look and the red slashes that were the fret markers was a cool decal that Shadow requested be done when he first got it. He picked the guitar up and grabbed a pick that lay on his bedside table and began to play a simple chord progression on his unplugged electric guitar. He started with b minor and began to strum, the sound of the chord jogged his memory as he closed his eyes and thought back to that day fifteen years ago as he continued to strum.

Shadow and Sonic were the first ones to make it back stage as Tails and Knuckles tagged along behind them just a few seconds later. The crowd was still roaring it's love of the show as they, Controlling Chaos now made it to their dressing room.

"Dude that was sick!" Sonic shouted as he slapped everyone a high five, sweat was trickling off of Shadow's brow and he quickly wiped it away before slapping Sonic's hand.

"Yeah, you can say that again!" Tails said, practically jumping up and down with joy. The euphoria in the group was at an all time high. They had practically just played the best show of their lives and they were ready to sign their life away on the dotted line for one thing and one thing only, a shot at a record deal. Shadow removed his leather jacket, exposing his Dr. Feelgood Motley Crue t-shirt as he placed his guitar pick in the pocket of his tattered black jeans.

"Good show guys." He commented as the rest of the band grabbed some water bottles from the cooler that was placed in their room earlier and began to drink. Knuckles chugged his water down in seconds and he wiped away the sweat that was coming down his face. His shirt was already caked in it so the guys tried to stay as far away from him as possible to avoid the aroma of roadkill that was Knuckles' stench. Regardless of how the other guys' felt he walked towards them and he had a look on his face that looked like he was about to burst at the seams with excitement. Sonic who noticed this first looked at Knuckles.

"Well what is it? Out with it already!" Sonic yelled impatiently waiting for Knuckles to spill the news.

"I thought I saw the guy from Killswitch records out there guys." At these words the rest of the band gasped.

"No way!" Tails couldn't believe his ears nor could the rest of Controlling Chaos, the record executive from Killswitch records? There's no way in hell the rest of the band thought. Sonic was the quickest of the draw and was the first to share the same feelings that everyone other than Knuckles was feeling.  
"There's no way, the guy is a legend, he signed our heroes for crying out loud, Albatross Inc., Everything Evil, Wanted Man, First to Fire. He's practically signed them all!" Sonic grabbed Knuckles by his shirt and shook him viciously. Shadow intervened before the poor echidna could receive whiplash by the hands of the blue hedgehog.

"Okay, that's enough!" Shadow glared at both of them as Tails looked on watching the scene go down. It suddenly fell silent as Shadow stepped back to address the band as a whole.

"I know that the adrenaline is still running through us but we got to keep our cool. If Knucklehead did see this executive from his all high and mighty throne," Shadow paused to turn to Knuckles who in return chuckled and gave a smile before Shadow went back to what he was saying.

"So now that we have seemed to calm down I'm going to go and get us some real drinks." Shadow hinted at the alcohol at the bar and began running out of the band's dressing room in search of booze. The rest of the band cheered as the lingered inside, happily awaiting the arrival of alcohol or even better, women. They passed the time waiting for Shadow to come back by talking about the show and what they should do for next time. Ideas were being passed around and exchanged with one another, Tails remembered to make a mental note to tell Shadow all of this when he returned. The band heard a loud knock and turned towards the direction of the door.

"Oh c'mon Shadow! We've been waiting long enough! Don't tease us by holding the beer captive!" Sonic pleaded as the rest of the guys laughed hysterically at Sonic giving the door a puppy dog face just to be goofy.

"I'm afraid you have me mistaken for someone else." A deep voice replied from the other side of the door. The band stopped goofing around immediately. They didn't recognize this voice, who was this? Sonic gestured at Tails to open the door who then gestured for Knuckles to open the door which then resulted in a quick game of rock, paper, scissors between the three which ended with Knuckles opening the door. A tall, slim man stood in the doorway, he had a decent amount of facial hair and had deep green eyes. He held a black cane in his right hand which was engraved with a majestic pattern of metallic swirls that snaked it's way around the cane. He was wearing a maroon suit with a charcoal black tie. Knuckles stood in awe at the figure in the doorway before turning around to face the guys with an enormous smile plastered on his face.

"Oh my God guys! It's the executive I was telling you about!" Knuckles cheered as the man made his way into the room.

"Ah yes, Controlling Chaos is it? My name is Alfred Derriks." He said, extending his hand introducing himself to the band.  
"Y-y-y-yes it's n-n-nice to meet you." Tails stuttered, couldn't quite believing his eyes at the moment. Sonic was having a hard time too, but eventually the band overcame their awe and shook the man's hand. He looked them over individually before suddenly a puzzled expression adorned his face.  
"Wasn't there another one of you?" Alfred asked as he looked all around the room in confusion. Sonic spoke up and told him that Shadow had left to go and get "refreshments".

"Ah okay, well then this will make it easier then." The band looked confused by his words, did they hear him right?

"What are you talking about Mr. Suit?" Tails asked, wondering what in the world he was saying.

"Now, now, there is no need for name calling. I just want to sign you all the Killswitch records and make you one of the greatest acts on my roster." Alfred boasted, the band was still hung up on his words from earlier, still quite unsure of what this man was implying.

"Cut to the chase dude, what did you mean earlier when you said that it will make it easier for us if Shadow isn't here?" Knuckles asked sternly, wanting an answer as well as the rest of the band. Alfred sighed before his face suddenly became very stern.

"Nothing can ever get by you can it? What I meant earlier was I want to sign you but only one condition my friends." He held his hands behind his back as he glared at all of them with a serious expression still on his face.

"What's that?" The band all asked in unison anxious as to what Alfred could possibly want.

"I want you to kick Shadow out of the band." Alfred stated. The room fell silent, the band couldn't believe the audacity of Alfred right now. Shadow had been in this band since it's creation, they couldn't just kick him to the curb like this.

"No! We won't do it!" Tails shouted causing Alfred to jump back a little bit in fear.

"Yeah! He's been with us for far too long!" Sonic added in, as the band began to corner Alfred who now held his hands up defensively.

"Woah, woah, guys just hear me out…" Alfred began but was interrupted by Knuckles.

"We won't listen to any of your fancy schmancy jargon we won't have our record deal any other way than with Shadow by our side!"

"But listen just for a second! Don't think Shadow drags you guys down a little bit?" Alfred asked, causing the band to fall silent. "He thinks he is the leader of this band by doing everything, and he doesn't ask for your help or your input it seems. I've heard all about you guys, it just seems like Shadow is the one who does all the work and takes all the credit, where is your guys' credit?" The questions struck a chord with the band as it suddenly dawned on them that the words Alfred was saying were true. Shadow did do everything, he made sure to tell the band all about his accomplishments and his songs and his plans for the band and everything but where was their credit? They wanted to be remembered for something but how would they be remembered if one person just took all the credit?

"If we were to kick Shadow out of the band how would we even make it to recording an album?" Sonic asked implying that he wanted to know the future of the band without Shadow.

"He is the heart and soul of this band and his voice is what makes the songs as popular as they are, he is irreplaceable." Tails added on, wanting to make sure that everyone knew he still wanted Shadow in the band. Knuckles glared at Sonic can't believing his ears that Sonic would even ask something like that but soon his attention along with the others were directed back to Alfred.  
"See that is the problem! You shouldn't be telling yourselves that he is the band and you guys should start telling yourselves that you are the band!" Alfred pointed to each of them individually with his cane, "You are the ones who make the music, he's just the workaholic with a voice that can easily be changed out for someone better." Alfred smiled on the inside as he realized that his pitch was eating away at the ties of the band, he knew that at any moment the frayed ties would snap and they would be all his. "I know some people who would love to become the new voice of Controlling Chaos! I know for a fact that a tour with First to Fire is in your guys' future." Alfred flashed a smile as the band consulted one another at the mention of their childhood heroes.

"I've always wanted to tour with them." Tails said excitedly, Knuckles just looked at Tails and shook his head.  
"Are you guys sure about this? There is no going back if we sign that dotted line, we will have to find someone else to replace Shadow and that won't be easy." Knuckles addressed the band before a smirk appeared on Sonic's face.

"Of course this is the right thing! Who said rock n roll was easy! Let's do this thing!" Sonic rushed over to Alfred and held his hand out, "Where's that pen at Alfred! I wanna be the first one to sign and show that we don't need Shadow and that we can handle things ourselves!" Alfred grinned Cheshire Cat style and pulled a pen out from his jacket pocket along with a folded up piece of paper.

"Sign on the dotted line boys, your record deal and your future eagerly awaits you." Alfred chuckled as he handed the pen to Sonic first, who then handed it to Knuckles, who then handed it to Tails. Tails walked forward to sign on the paper but began to second guess himself, was this the right thing, he thought. Sonic and Knuckles were practically jumping out of their skin with impatience as Tails continued to hesitate on signing the paper. Tails afraid of their wrath, signed his name in a hurried scribble before handing the pen back to Alfred. "Ah so now the deed is done! Now tomorrow will be your first day in a recording studio and I will set up some sessions for you to jam with some musicians of mine to replace Shadow! I will call you tomorrow, see you then!" With those words Alfred exited the room and left the band feeling nervous and excited.

"Dude we get to be in a record studio!" Tails cheered slapping Sonic on the back, the band continued to cheer and celebrate before suddenly a figure appeared in the doorway. The band turned to acknowledge Shadow who was holding some beers in his hand staring daggers into each of his bandmates. Shadow had heard everything from the moment Alfred walked into the room to the time he left, and he was pissed as all hell. Before the band could say anything he took one of the bottles in his hands and chucked it across the room. The band quickly moved out of the way as the bottle broke open and glass and beer went everywhere, turning their attention away from the bottle to the doorway they saw Shadow was gone. Sonic quickly dashed to the doorway and saw Shadow angrily stomping down the hall.  
"Wait Shadow I-" Sonic began, but before he could finish Shadow had left without turning his back, Tails and Knuckles joined Sonic's side and instantly they felt regret at kicking their friend, their workaholic bandmate out. What were they going to do without him, they thought. There was no turning back now, their name was on the dotted line.

Shadow snapped out of his memory and stopped playing, he placed his pick in between the strings on his guitar. He placed it back on its stand and turned out the lights to his room, the light of his alarm clock illuminating only his bed and nothing else. He pulled the sheets on his bed back and laid down, wrapping himself up and trying to find warmth in them before falling into a deep but somewhat troubled sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 1:

Shadow was jarred from his troublesome sleep by the sound of his alarm clock blaring it's horrendous beeping noise. Shadow's eyes slowly but surely opened as the sound continued to fill the room, he reached out and slammed on the snooze button irritated that he couldn't sleep all that well. Shadow pulled the sheets off of him and slowly pulled himself up to a sitting position so that his legs hung off the side of the bed. He hung his head groggily, still tired from the night before as he got up to turn off his alarm. I don't need it to remind me again, Shadow thought as he turned it off and flicked the switch to turn on the lights. Shadow then walked towards his closet and fetched his work uniform for the local grocery store he worked at which consisted of a red collared shirt and black khaki pants. He held his clothes in his arms as he sluggishly made his way towards the bathroom to shower. Shadow felt like crap, he couldn't get rid of the clutter of thoughts inside his head that were consistently pestering him. His former bandmates were like cockroaches, they kept nagging and crawling all over him and no matter how hard he would try to rid of them they would always find a way to hide and return to bother him. Shadow just wanted them to disappear from his conscious, he knew that they were important to him at one time but why couldn't he just live and forget them like they had done to him? It was a question that continues to haunt Shadow after all these years and now the real question seemed to be, will he ever be able to break free of the shackles that are his memories? Shadow pondered this, as he turned the switch on for shower and turned the handle towards hot water. He stepped inside the shower and felt the steaming warm water trickle down his fur. Shadow closed his eyes, feeling relaxed with every droplet that graced his fur, feeling relief with every second that ticked by. His thoughts raced as he stood underneath the water, he smirked as a memory came back to him. A memory of how the band had actually started and how they went to some extremes to form Controlling Chaos.

Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Shadow all walked down the street heading home from school. They were walking down Main Street, the guys were talking about forming a band except Shadow was a little hesitant about it.

"C'mon Shadow it'll be fun, besides you got a guitar for Christmas as well as I did so let's put them to good use!" Sonic said, trying to convince Shadow that it would be fun. Knuckles turned to Sonic and smiled.

"Yeah pretty soon I should be able to have enough money saved up to buy a drum kit, I've been goofing around on a friend's for right now but I want to get my own so I can get my own." Shadow glanced at both Knuckles and Sonic before acknowledging Tails.

"I'll do it if Tails joins." Shadow replied with a smirk on his face, he knew that Tails wouldn't agree with joining, being in a rock band wasn't for him. Tails stopped in his tracks causing the whole group to halt and turn to face him. Tails didn't like the fact that everyone's attention was focused solely on him. He felt uncomfortable with all of them staring at him, awaiting his answer. Tails squirmed on the inside and he fidgeted nervously with the straps of his backpack before delivering a sheepish smile.

"Um….I don't know guys." Tails started. "I just don't think I'm cool enough for this kind of thing. I mean all the guys that are in bands just radiate an aura of being cool and I'm just a nerd. Nerds can't be in bands. They aren't cut out for it." Shadow folded his arms across his chest before delivering his famous "Hpmh." A smirk was firmly placed on Shadow's face as the Sonic and Knuckles gaped at how ridiculous Tails sounded.

"Looks like you have my answer guys. Looks like this quartet has become a duo project." Shadow scoffed as he began to walk forward leaving the rest of the guys behind. Sonic turned to Tails with a now serious expression on his face and placed his hand on Tails' shoulder.

"Tails, you sound absolutely ridiculous right now," Sonic scolded. "Some of the biggest nerds in the world are rockstars, Cliff Burton from Metallica played D&D and was a fan of H.P Lovecraft, Ozzy Osbourne wrote a song about a Marvel superhero, and not to mention Edgar Winter, the dude was practically considered a freak by many for being albino so he learned as many instruments as he could and sure enough look where he is! He's on top of the world, or used to be anyway, but that's besides the point. The point I'm making here is that you deserve to be in a rock band no matter what because you're not just one of the smartest people I know Tails but you are also one of my best friends and you deserve this just as much as everyone else who has been blessed enough to step onto a stage and perform to thousands of screaming fans." With these uplifting words Tails suddenly felt more confident about himself but at the same time there was still something preventing him from accomplishing his friends' dream, Shadow turned after hearing Sonic's speech and walked back towards the group. Knuckles could tell something was still bothering Tails and before Sonic could speak again Knuckles asked, "Something's still gnawing at you, what is it?" Once again all attention, including Shadow's who had now rejoined the group was focused on Tails who again fidgeted with his backpack straps.

"The problem is I don't know how to play, I mean I could learn bass since you guys have chosen drums and guitar but my parents don't want me to meddle with anything other than school and educational activities, I'm lucky I get to hang out with you guys as it is." Sonic face palmed at Tails' stubbornness, "Tails! C'mon! We'll help you get an instrument! Don't you want to be famous and live the life?!" Sonic grabbed Tails by his shirt and started shaking him before he was interrupted by Knuckles who quickly defused the situation. Shadow just smirked as the situation looked dire for Sonic and Knuckles recruiting Tails and him. Tails brushed himself off before addressing Sonic once more, "If I were to join this band, not that I'm saying that I am, but if I were, the question remains. How would I get the money to pay for it? My parents don't want me to work and my parents don't want me to do anything except focus on school." The question hung in the air as Sonic and Knuckles pondered while Shadow just stood with his arms crossed watching the three of them. Suddenly Sonic's face lit up, "What if we don't have to tell your parents?" Tails looked at him strangely.

"What do you mean? It's an instrument that I will have to pay for without a job to get said money so of course my parents are going to have to know." Sonic shook his head at Tails who didn't understand what he was hinting at. "What I meant buddy was, what if we borrowed an instrument?" Tails thought for a second, "Um...sure, but who do you know that would have an instrument?" Sonic chuckled lightly, "Not just an instrument, a bass guitar. I think it would be perfect for you and I know just the place to go and get it."

"But Sonic you didn't answer my-" Before Tails could finish, Sonic bolted off, leaving Shadow, Knuckles, and Tails scratching their heads wondering just what Sonic had planned.

Later that evening the guys met up a few blocks away from Shadow's house. Sonic had called them a couple hours prior to inform everyone to meet him on Antra Avenue, no one had any idea what was going on but they were determined to find out just what the blue hedgehog had schemed. However, Sonic was nowhere to be seen at the spot of meeting, leaving Shadow, Knuckles, and Tails standing by the street lamp. "That faker had better be showing up soon." Shadow said with an edge in his voice, frustrated that he had to get out of bed for this.

"I'm sure he will be here soon. He typically isn't late." Tails said as he looked around hoping to catch sight of Sonic at any moment.

"He has some gall to keep us here." Knuckles muttered just as a blue blur appeared from behind them.

"Hey guys, miss me?" Sonic said with a smile.

"No not really, you're a half hour late so either you showed up and you annoyed me into making me beat you up or you didn't and I would have to pulverise you!" Shadow angrily as Knuckles approached him, ready to restrain. Sonic just laughed at Shadow's hot headedness.

"Sorry I was late guys. I fell asleep and my alarm didn't wake me up. You ready to go and get Tails' bass?" Sonic asked as the rest of the group just nodded and followed at a slow pace. They walked in complete silence past various streets lit either by the street lamps or the light of the moon that hung above with the bright stars scattering the night sky. Since it was the outskirts of the city it was practically dead in this area. No one would be up in such the early hours of the morning. After walking for a solid thirty minutes, Sonic suddenly stopped walking and so did the others. "Sonic, why did we stop?" Tails spoke up, breaking the silence between them. Sonic said nothing but pointed to a the shop in front of them. The group read the sign that hung just above the doorway, "Mr, Bojang's Music". Tails looked over at Sonic as did everyone else and gave a questioning look. "We are getting your bass!" Sonic said cheerfully as he pointed to the front window. Tails turned his head and gasped at what he saw in the display window. It was an orange and white centered bass guitar with mahogany fretboard and headstock. "It's beautiful Sonic but, how are we going to get it?" Tails questioned as Sonic put his hand on the window. The question was answered with silence as everyone kept their eyes on Sonic, noticing his strange behavior. A loud humming filled the air as everyone watched in awe as Sonic's hands vibrated the glass window at an unbelievable rate.

"Sonic, what the hell are you doing?!" Knuckles yelled not caring if it was two in the morning or not, Sonic didn't answer as Tails looked on in horror.

"Oh my God Sonic! Is this what you meant the whole time? That we were going to steal it? You said you knew a guy!" The glass suddenly dissipated into sand that fell to a pile at Sonic's feet. "I did know a guy, he owns this shop he's going to let us borrow the bass, we just aren't asking if we can though is the thing." Sonic replied as he grabbed the bass from its stand Shadow just laughed internally as he watched Sonic try to hand the bass to Tails, I can't believe this hedgehog actually decided to go against his moral compass just to form a pitiful at best rock band, Shadow thought. Tails continued to shake his head aghast at what he just witnessed. "Sonic! You of all people should know that stealing is wrong!" Tails cried out making Sonic cover his mouth with his gloved hand. Tails continued to yell but his words were muffled by Sonic's hand and after a few moments he removed it leaving everyone in silence.

"What's the meaning of this Sonic?" Knuckles asked, wondering why his friend was acting like this.

"Yeah, what's the big idea faker?" Shadow chided in. The air stood still, no one moved and Sonic looked like he was at a loss for words however, after a couple of seconds he sighed and began to finally talk.

"I wanted to form a band and Knuckles was going to get his drum kit after he worked enough to pay for it but I wanted to include you guys too I just didn't know how and I figured that Tails would be hesitant to it so I figured the only way he would join was if I did something drastic and so I did. I also remembered what Shadow said earlier about how if Tails joined then he would." Sonic paused to look at Shadow whose eyes were wide as saucers. Shit, he remembered, Shadow thought as Sonic resumed talking. "I'm sorry if I went against morals but I really want this to happen, and I don't want this band to be anything but the four of us. I know that we can make something of ourselves and this is the way to do it. So what do you say Tails and Shadow? You in?" Sonic extended the bass to Tails who looked at it hesitantly. Tails thought for a moment before grabbing it and happily holding it in his hands.

"I'm in one hundred percent!" Tails said excitedly as Sonic turned to face Shadow who had his back turned from the group.

"C'mon Shadow, it'll be fun, besides you said you would." Sonic said as Shadow closed his eyes and weighed his options. If I do I'm screwed, if not I'm alone, ugh, Shadow's mind conflicted with itself and after a few seconds he sighed.

"Alright I guess I have no choice, but I'll sing and play rhythm guitar since everyone else has decided on what they want to play." Everyone cheered and celebrated at the fact that they had finally unified as a band. "What shall we call ourselves then?" Tails asked.

"Yeah, we gotta have a name." Knuckles replied, Sonic then pointed towards the window. Everyone turned, suddenly realizing what Sonic was implying and took off down the street not wanting to get caught out past curfew, or even worse, with Tails' new bass.

Shadow chuckled lightly at the memory of them becoming a band as he turned off the water to the shower. How ironic that the goody two shoes of the lot had to be the bad guy to get everyone to join him, Shadow thought as he started dressing in his work uniform, which consisted of a red button up collared shirt and black khaki pants. His fur was still damp from the hot shower but that didn't bother him as he began to brush his teeth. Hopefully work won't be too bad today, the last thing I need is to be bothered by pesky customers again, Shadow cast away the thoughts and decided he would worry about them when he got to work. He put his toothbrush back in his drawer and headed out the door ready to start the day.

I knew I should have eaten breakfast, Shadow thought as his stomach growled. Shadow hadn't eaten all day and work was busier than usual, leaving him with no time to go on break and eat lunch. With this predicament, Shadow decided that he would go and grab a burger and fries from across the street when he was finished. He could feel the warm bag against his hands as the aroma of food filled his nose with a plethora of delightful smells. He rushed home from the fast food joint to cease his stomachs' complaints and as soon as he had made it to his room that is exactly what he did. Shadow reached into his bag and began to devour his burger ravenously. He polished it off in no time and before long he had finished his fries too. Feeling much better Shadow threw away his trash and laid down on his bed. Shadow gazed over at his alarm clock, it read nine o'clock.

"Now what?" Shadow asked aloud as he wondered what to do for the rest of the night. He looked over at his desk which was cluttered with pieces of notebook papers and CD's of various bands. Deciding he would listen to some tunes, Shadow got up off the bed and grabbed one of the albums resting off of his desk. Looking at the title, Shadow faintly smiled as he popped in the CD into the radio next to his bed. Laying back down, nothing was heard but silence before some drums clicked off for the song to start. An old school sounding 80's rock riff sounded from a single guitar, it played a few times by itself allowing the song to gain momentum like a freight train before the whole band entered, thundering away as the song finally reached the entry of the vocals.

Neon lights

The magic of the streets

I knew from the beginning

You would take me off my feet

Shadow cringed at the sound of his own voice, it was gruff like James Hetfield but it was also trying to be higher like Rob Halford leaving the whole song to sound like 80's hair metal with no flare. The song was terrible and dry vocal wise but it was the instruments that made the song even remotely bearable. It was the first incarnation of Controlling Chaos, they had started off wanting to be an old school thrash, hair metal kind of band but they soon realized that they weren't cut out for that music. They ditched that scene and soon found more advancement as a band with fusing grunge music and thrash to form a more hard rock sound. It was a sound that would eventually lift them up to the success that they would experience. Shadow kept listening to the trash tune, bobbing his head to the guitar riff that played. Faker got that from Ratt, Shadow thought as he remembered the day that Sonic had introduced the riff he had come up with. They had been playing nothing but covers up until that point and when Sonic showed them what he had come up with the band was immediately inspired to write material. What followed was an absolute horrendous recording of their song "Heart of the City". Shadow finally had enough of the song and turned it off, the room no longer alive with the sound of distorted riffs. I can write so much better than that, Shadow thought as he put the CD back in it's case and set it back on his desk. He was going to go back to his bed and retire for the night when his mind suddenly challenged him, why don't you write a better song? The thought crawled through his mind like a serpent, Shadow knew that if he didn't then his mind would haunt him until he did. Without thinking any further Shadow turned back towards his desk and brought out a pencil from one of the drawers. He then began to scribble down some lyrics erasing here and there but all the while jotting his thoughts down onto the paper. He could feel a weight lift off of him as wrote and he continued to do so until he felt his eyes droop. Shadow laid his head down on the table just for a second to collect his thoughts on what to write for the next verse. However, after an exhausting day Shadow succumbed to a deep and peaceful sleep.

Shadow woke up the following morning and looked over at his alarm clock wearily, it read ten fifty. Shit, I gotta be at work in ten minutes, Shadow thought as he hurriedly got up from his desk and quickly brushed his teeth. He cupped some water in his hands and washed up some of the dirty parts of his work clothes that he had fallen asleep in. He rushed out the door and ran the four blocks it took to get to work. This was probably the first time ever in his entire employment to Cheeky's grocery store that he was late to work. Hopefully they aren't too pissed with me, or too busy, Shadow thought as he made his way inside and was greeted almost instantly by his manager.

"Glad to see that you have made it Shadow. You're late." His manager was a squirrel who was renowned for being calm except when under pressure. He was a ticking time bomb that everyone feared, including Shadow. Luckily though it didn't appear like his manager was going to explode but he did however look slightly angry at Shadow. "But I guess I can't be too mad at you since this is your first time being late." His manager said looking at his watch with a scowl. "It's only by ten minutes so I guess I can't be too mad at you. Just keep your nose clean and don't be late again." His manager concluded his lecture and began to head off to work on whatever it was that needed to be worked on that day. Shadow breathed a sigh of relief, narrowly dodging the bullet that was his manager. I love Cheeky, but damn, he sure knows how to be scary, Shadow wondered how someone like him managed to become that scary as he clocked in and took his place on register. It was a thursday, which meant that it was truck day. It was Shadow's least favorite day of the week for one reason and one reason only. It meant that while everyone else was working on unloading truck he had to attend the front and work register which meant that Shadow had to actually socialize, the worst part of the job. Shadow sighed as his day began to slowly but surely tick by with each and every customer that entered and exited the store. After a considerable amount of time Shadow looked down at the digital clock on his register. He was five minutes away from break which meant he could go and get a delicious burger and fries that had become a staple of his diet as of late. Shadow licked his lips as he suddenly craved the greasy food. He didn't have time to daydream for long about his appetite however, as a customer appeared and placed her groceries in front of Shadow. Shadow snapped out of his thoughts to assist the customer. He looked at her for a brief moment after he had scanned her items and told her the price. She was a pink hedgehog wearing a scarlet dress, her pink quills were parted, revealing her emerald green eyes that were absolutely stunning. Even Shadow could feel himself being drawn by them. He quickly turned away slightly embarrassed as the hedgehog continued to stare at him, thinking that he had been caught staring Shadow pretended to brush it off, repeating the price to the pink hedgehog. She gasped as she clenched the cash in her hands, she looked like she had seen a ghost.

"S-S-S-S-Shadow?"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 2:

Shadow looked at the pink hedgehog across from him, unsure of what to do in this particular situation. How does she know me? I don't recognize her at all from anywhere, Shadow's mind prodded his memories trying to find a moment where he met this female. He couldn't recall doing so but clearly she did and he was curious to know how.

"Um…." Shadow began, but before he could correctly place his thoughts into a coherent sentence, the pink hedgehog's face turned from one of shock into one of pure giddiness.

"Oh my God! Shadow!" The hedgehog squealed with happiness and would've hugged Shadow where he was standing behind the register had he not placed his hands out in front of him to stop her advances.

"Just what do you think you are doing?" Shadow questioned, glaring into the pink hedgehog's emerald colored eyes. They were quite remarkable and beautiful to look into, almost like a green ocean with how they twinkled, he noted.

"You may not know me but my name is Amy Rose! I was in love with your band Controlling Chaos a while back! I went to all the shows I could to see you guys!" She couldn't stop jumping in place as told all of this to Shadow, and suddenly that's when his eyes widened at a possibility he had forgotten about. Please...don't tell me she's a groupie, he thought mortified at the thought of being an unexpected dad from rock n roll. He shook his head, doubting it but then again here was someone who recognized him from all those years ago and he didn't think that that would ever happen. Now the real question remains, what now? Shadow's thoughts continued to dart from one thing to the next. He wasn't quite sure what to do, he never thought he would ever be recognized by anyone. He thought the world had moved on and learned to live without him. What a bittersweet surprise, he was somewhat glad that someone recognized him for his past endeavors but at the same time he was content with the hand life had given him. Albeit wasn't his first option but nonetheless it was the cards he had been dealt and he was making the most of it. Shadow was conflicted on the inside, but he knew that he couldn't let his life be disturbed by some random fangirl who appeared out of the blue. He knew what needed to be done he had officially closed the door on the person he had been when he had adopted the rock n roll lifestyle but that was then, this was now.

"I don't know what you're talking about, you must have me mixed up with someone else." Shadow blatantly lied as he glanced behind Amy and noticed a line starting to form. Amy looked at him in awe, she couldn't believe he was lying to her.

"I'm not stupid Shadow, I know you're lying." Amy countered as she crossed her arms and tapped her foot, patiently awaiting the truth to emerge from Shadow.

"How would you know if I was lying or not? I'm telling you, you have me mistaken for someone else." Amy was getting irritated, here she was trying to show him how much of a fan she was of his band but he didn't care at all! Why was he lying? Something doesn't make sense here, Amy thought as she continued to tap her foot with impatience.  
"Shadow, quit lying to me. Better yet, why are you lying to me?" Amy questioned as the ebony hedgehog rubbed his temple, irritated beyond comprehension at what is happening. God damn, she is one stubborn and persistent hedgehog, even more so than Sonic, Shadow thought as he dared another look behind Amy, the line was even longer this time. There were at least seven people behind her who were all gazing at Shadow with pure anger at the fact that they were holding them up in line just to chit chat with the hedgehog in front of him. This is going to end one way or another. "Are you paying for your groceries? If not, I'm going to have to ask you to leave." Shadow completely ignored her question as she continued to stare at him in seething anger at his lies and how ignorant he was being. Amy knew that this wasn't going to get her anywhere so she gave up and decided that she would just get her groceries.

"Yeah I guess I'll pay." Amy threw her money on the counter and proceeded to grab her groceries. Shadow grabbed the money and put it in his register as Amy stepped out of the line and allowed the ones behind her to be checked out. Amy stood for a few moments just staring at Shadow as he helped people check out. When the line was finally cleared she stepped back in front of Shadow who turned his back to her.

"What do you want?" It was a questioned oozed with venom, he didn't want her there nor did he want anything to do with her. She had brought up the past and he had promised himself that he wouldn't allow the past to follow him into his new life. Shadow hated his former bandmates but they still held a place in his heart, a very sensitive place, and for someone to just come from out of nowhere and inquire about it was unnerving. He was caught off guard at work by her barrage of questions. Shadow wasn't sure how to go about it but the only way out it seemed, was to be rude and to avoid her questions altogether. Yet, here she stood before him, persistent and curious as ever. What would it take for her to leave him be?

"All I want to know is why you're lying to me. I know that you're trying to brush me off and ignore my questions but I can tell that there is something that you're not telling me." Amy paused as she watched Shadow turn to her, his red irises now staring deep into her green ones. "What are you not telling me, Shadow?" Amy once again, questioning the ebony hedgehog. Shadow sighed, he had to continue to act like he didn't know what she was talking about. She'll eventually leave me alone if I just keep this up, right? Why was she trying to break down the walls of someone who she didn't even know longer than ten minutes? Why couldn't she understand she wasn't wanted, she was being a pest, she needed to leave soon otherwise Shadow was going to rage and really lose his mind.

"I am telling you Rose, you have me mixed up with someone else, now if you'll excuse me. I have to get back to work." Shadow turned and began to walk away from the register, leaving Amy Rose all alone at the checkout. She slightly blushed at the name she had given him, but she felt crushed. She knew that there was a puzzle that needed to be solved here, she just needed to fit the pieces together to unlock just what that truth was. It just didn't make sense for him to just act like this unless something really serious happened in his past. Amy decided that her mission would be to make Shadow confess the truth and make him explain everything, even if it meant going to extremes. She was going to have the truth one way or another.

"Like it or not Shadow, I will have answers." Amy vowed as she left the store, groceries in hand as she began to formulate a plan on just how she would get her answers from Shadow.

A/N: Alright so that does it for this Chapter, it's a little shorter than the others but I felt like this was a good introduction for Amy and the conflict she will produce for Shadow's life. Reviews and feedback is much appreciated as well as ideas on where to take this story. Feel free to PM me ideas and what you want to see happen in this story. Thank you guys! Hope you're all enjoying All Within My Hands!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Just thought you guys should know that all lyrics for the songs that are in here were written by me, unless indicated otherwise. This next chapter took me a while sorry about that, I'll try to update every two weeks but no promises sadly. Reviews are much appreciated as are your guys' ideas, I mean this story is yours just as much as it is mine so give some feedback and some ideas on where you want this story to go because I don't plan on giving up on this story anytime soon. Without further ado, chapter three everyone!

Chapter 3:

The darkness of the night began to settle in as the moon shone in the sky, illuminating the ground lightly with its glow. Shadow had just finished his shift at the store and was embarking on his way home, he was tired and confused from earlier on today. Shadow glared up at the stars hugging the night sky as he pondered his mind for answers. Who was she? Shadow knew that she was some fangirl, that much was certain but he didn't remember her. Why though, would she try to strike up a conversation with me though, let alone the topic of the band. I'm surprised she had the audacity to, how did the news not reach her? It practically reached everyone when they became famous. Shadow shook his head, the slight ache in his head had now become a full on migraine. Shadow grunted as he tried to block out the pain, he was only a couple blocks away from his destination, soon he would be able to sleep soundly and erase this day from his memory. It's just a one time thing, Shadow thought, she won't come looking for me.

"Hey, can we talk?" A voice startled Shadow out of his troubled thoughts as he spun around to confront whoever was talking. Shadow's eyes widened in surprise as he saw Amy standing with her hands on her hips, glaring daggers. Shadow scoffed a little on the inside, this is pathetic, does she really think she can act tough, Shadow thought.

"Well, seeing as how I don't really have an option with you since you're going to follow me anyway, yeah. We can talk." Shadow folded his arms and closed his eyes, awaiting what Amy could possibly want to talk about. Before Amy could even get a word out Shadow cut her off, "Did you wait for me this entire time to get off work?" Amy stumbled inside her mind for a few seconds, trying to regain her confidence to speak what was on her mind. She had everything planned out and now that was all crashing and burning as Shadow's question had derailed her thoughts.

"Yes, I did, because this means a lot to me." Amy stated, answering Shadow's question, which was returned with what looked like a faint smile from the ebony hedgehog, but it could've been a trick of the moonlight. "Why did you treat me the way you did?" Amy had done it, she had thrown the question out in the open, the question that had been plaguing her all day. An uncomfortable silence hung in the air as Shadow still stood, arms folded and eyes closed as he processed the question and how to approach it. He had to admit it, he had been extremely rude earlier, but she had hit a raw nerve, something that no one really talks about at all with him. At the same time, he didn't even give her a chance to let her speak. He just immediately shut her out, that's what he has always done though. You can't get hurt, if you have no one close to you, Shadow held these words close to his heart because he had broke down his walls for people he had thought of as brothers, people he thought were his best friends, and they repaid him by betraying him and throwing him to the curb. Those words were now a motto that he lived by, and he just couldn't break his walls down ever again, he couldn't be caring, caring showed weakness and Shadow wasn't weak.

"You deserved it, you wouldn't leave me alone, you were being a pest." Shadow spat as Amy's face twisted into a look of shock. She wasn't expecting an answer like that, even if the words were in fact coming from his mouth.

"Why are you doing this?! Why can't you just admit you were in Controlling Chaos? Why does it hurt you so much?" The questions came like rapid fire from Amy, the hurt evident in her voice as she continued to press for answers. Shadow wasn't having this, he opened his eyes, the crimson irises piercing into Amy's jade ones.

"Like I said, you have me mistaken for someone else. Goodnight Amy." With these words Shadow turned and headed towards his home, officially done with the pink hedgehog's interrogations. He could hear her crying out for him, but her words fell upon deaf ears as Shadow continued to walk home. Although he would never admit it, he felt a pang of guilt as he finally made it to his house and closed the door behind him, hopefully shutting Amy Rose out of his life forever.

The next day was Shadow's day off and after having a bowl of cereal for breakfast, Shadow decided he would just stay at home for the day and relax. He had nothing to do on the agenda today, he had cleaned his house earlier on in the week, he had taken care of all the bills, and he had his work schedule already for next week. Today was going to be a good day, Shadow thought as he laid on his bed, wondering what exactly to do. His attention turned towards the window, which revealed the sun in all its glory casting its warm rays of light inside his room. Shadow rolled over towards the light and laid there, feeling the warmth of the light comforting him. Right as he was about to doze off, there was a knock at the door, immediately Shadow's eyes opened in fury.

"Who in the hell?" Shadow muttered as he marched down the stairs and opened the door forcefully. Standing on his doorstep was none other than Amy Rose, who gave Shadow a soft smile.

"Hello Shadow." Amy said cheerfully as Shadow stood, slightly shaking in fury. Shadow gripped the side of the door tight, he was having to refrain from exploding on the spot, why was she so goddamn persistent!

"What could you possibly want now you stubborn hedgehog? Don't you know what the word no means, or do was someone too dense to pass remedial classes?" Shadow said distastefully as he didn't even wait for an answer, he was already closing the door in Amy's face. Before it could close however, a shoe blocked the door and Amy's face appeared in the little crack.

"For someone who wants to call others stubborn, you're pretty stubborn yourself." Amy commented as Shadow continued to seethe in anger at the pink hedgehog. Why couldn't she just leave? I have these walls up for a specific reason. Why can't she see what I see, Shadow's eyes connected with Amy's and for a moment Amy thought that she could see traces of pain in those crimson pools of his but just as quickly as it had appeared it had vanished.

"Please, I'm only going to say this once, leave." Amy was astonished to hear Shadow sound so gentle after how angry he had been seconds before. Maybe he was still pissed but he is just trying to conceal it, but why would he hide how he is feeling from me? Why can't he just open up? Amy thought with a sigh as she retreated off his doorstep and started towards the sidewalk. Shadow watched her as she walked, her head hung in defeat after the newest encounter with the ebony male. He knew he had to say something, he couldn't continue to just keep getting mad at her. Amy did after all, have heart, she continued to pursue her answers even if she was going to get shut out and left alone in the end. Shadow admired that, although he wouldn't let anybody know that, especially her. She was something else, Shadow thought as she continued to make her way down the street, before she was out of view, Shadow decided that he had to at least say something.

"Hey, wait!" Shadow called out, the pink hedgehog twirled around in surprise to see the ebony hedgehog trail behind her. Once Shadow had caught up to her they stood just inches apart, eyes locked on one another. Shadow had her undivided attention and as he continued to look into her eyes, he found himself getting lost within them. They are the most beautiful shade of green, Shadow thought as he shook his head, brushing the complimentary thoughts aside. Did he really just think that of Amy? Shadow had lost his train of thought as the pink hedgehog continued to look at Shadow, eagerly awaiting what he had to say.

"Um….." Shadow's mind was drawing a blank and Amy let out a light giggle, laughing at the hedgehog before her struggle with coming up with a coherent sentence. "How did you find me last night?" The question caused Amy to slightly frown as her mind drifted to the previous night. She remembered how Shadow had left her alone in the dark, feeling hurt and abandoned at the fact that he wouldn't let her have answers. Amy turned from Shadow and sat down on the curb of the sidewalk with her head resting on her left hand.

"Why would it matter to you now?" Amy asked with some spite in her voice, Shadow felt a surge of anger rise within him but he quickly doused the flame realizing that her question did in fact hold some truth in it. Why did it matter to him now? What made him leave his doorstep to meet up with her? The questions resonated inside his head, as he sat down next to her on the curb.

"It matters because I wanted you to know that would make quite the stalker in one of those horror movies or whatever." Shadow said as Amy snickered, no matter how mad she was at Shadow she had to admit that what he just said was pretty funny. Who knew Mr. Anger Management would be able to be humorous, Amy laughed to herself. Shadow glanced over at her to see a smile on her face, he liked to see it even if he was still pissed that she couldn't stop following him like a lost puppy.

"Hey Shadow, do you want to play a game?"Amy asked as Shadow looked at her with a questioning look. Now of all times, you want to play a game, how childish, Shadow thought.

"What kind of game could you possibly want to play right now?" Shadow questioned, suspicious of her motives.

"If you tell me some stuff about you, I'll tell you some stuff about me. It's that simple." Amy explained, the ebony hedgehog grunted as he stood up off the curb.

"First you want answers now you want to play games, I'm not a child Amy, I don't have time for games." Shadow began to walk back towards his house, angered that once he had opened himself up for even a small fraction of time already she wanted to play a game. He didn't want to know her, he knew that if he did it would be harder to shut her out, which he needed to do if he wished to remain alone in peace. Amy said nothing as she observed the distance between her and the ebony hedgehog growing greater and greater with every step he took. She knew that he almost had him ready to open himself up to her, she was on the verge of it, she just knew it. Now it seems that all her efforts were about to go up in smoke, all because she wanted to turn her questions into a game of sorts. God she was so stupid, why couldn't she think like an adult instead of like a child. Maybe Shadow was right, maybe I am just a stupid child that doesn't know when to let things go. Amy turned her back to Shadow as a thought graced her mind, that's it! She knew what she had to do, the time for being a child was over, if Shadow wouldn't respond to that, maybe I just need to be more of an adult. Shadow had his hand on the doorknob and was getting ready to twist it, when he heard a sound. It was a beautiful sound coming from the curb where he had just sat only moments before with Amy. He turned to see the pink hedgehog herself, singing on the sidewalk. It wasn't just any song either, Shadow noticed the lyrics, they were his! That song was written by him when he was in Controlling Chaos fifteen years ago, it had become a radio hit shortly after Shadow had been kicked out and the band had been signed a record deal. It was off of their album Seven, it was one of the best songs Shadow had ever written, yet they hadn't credited him for penning it at all, Sonic took all the credit. Shadow watched as the pink hedgehog continued to sing, her voice was mesmerizing and the ebony male decided to do something he hadn't done in years. Without hesitation, he bolted inside and up the stairs, leaving the pink hedgehog behind. He grabbed one of his acoustic guitars from its case resting against his bedroom wall and a pick and made his way back outside. He noticed that the spot where she was standing only moments before was now empty and that Amy was now walking away from Shadow's house.

"Wait! Where are you going?!" Shadow shouted at Amy as he ran after her in the hopes of hearing her singing again. Amy continued to walk away, not even turning around to face the ebony male even though he was right beside her now. "Amy, stop."

"Why should I?!" Amy abruptly yelled at Shadow, slightly scaring him, she is mad as all hell now, Shadow thought. "Why should I stop when all you've done is run away or walk away from me?" Shadow didn't know exactly what to say, she was right. He had done nothing except walk away and run away from her. He was afraid of letting anyone get close to him, he was tired of doing that, after all these years he was finally willing to allow someone into his life as a friend, because deep down he realized he needed one.

"Amy, I'm sorry." Shadow spoke softly as a few tears slowly trickled down her face, the sun illuminated them, making them look like a glass river that snaked down her pink fur. Shadow cupped the side of her face and wiped away the tears with his thumb. Amy looked astonished at the gesture Shadow had made. She was surprised someone as him was capable of showing compassion the way he just did. "I need you Amy and after being alone all this time, I realize that I need a friend. I want that friend to be you." Shadow had admitted how he felt, Amy had finally accomplished her mission. The ebony hedgehog had only met her yesterday in person and she might've seen him playing shows awhile back but this was the first time that he had felt a connection with anyone in what seemed like an eternity. He was tired of being the washed up, pissed off rockstar, he wanted to move on and open up a new chapter in his life and start trying to do what he did before, making friends. Amy smiled at Shadow after hearing what he had to say to her, it touched her down to her core and she had never felt so happy in her life.

"Shadow, I would be glad to be your friend." Amy noticed the guitar, Shadow had that was slung around him, hanging behind his back. "What's with the guitar?" Amy asked, intrigued as to why Shadow had brought his guitar outside with him.

"I heard you singing, and it brought back memories, memories that I have accepted and am willing to move on from. I just want your help. I want you to sing with me Amy." Shadow brought his guitar around and began playing a soft but very powerful chord progression, it sounded a little like "Lips of an Angel" by Hinder meets "Nobody Else" by My Darkest Days. It was one of the first songs that Shadow had written once the band had decided to change up their sound to alternative and metal. "I think you know this song pretty well." Shadow teased as he prepared to sing the first verse.

"Those summer nights have now come and gone

I really should have seen this coming all along

But now

But now"

After the ebony hedgehog sang, he continued to strum the chords as he looked over at Amy and gestured for her to sing the next verse. She smiled as she started to sing.

"The leaves are changing I watch them as they fall

December's 'round the corner and she still hasn't called

And now

And now"

After the verse, Shadow lightly smiled and the two began to sing together in harmony, his gruff voice singing along with her lighter and more beautiful voice.

"I'm left with the image of her crying those tears

I can still feel the heartache after all these years

So now

So now

I'll bury you inside the thoughts of June

I'd keep you in my heart but there's no more room

Is this how we are supposed to say goodbye

And think about each other in the middle of the night

The sheets only hold me and nobody else

And nobody else but you

Has felt the hurt from the thoughts of June

You threw your stones you broke this house of glass

I now realize that this wasn't supposed to last

But now

But now

I can still hear your words yeah, they cut like a blade

I feel like I'm drowning in my thoughts of yesterday

And now

And now

I wish I was in somebody else's shoes

Because I've played your games and I feel like a fool

So now

So now

I'll bury you inside the thoughts of June

I'd keep you in my heart but there's no more room

Is this how we are supposed to say goodbye

And think about each other in the middle of the night

The sheets only hold me and nobody else

And nobody else but you

Has felt the hurt from the thoughts of June

I'll bury you inside the thoughts of June

I'd keep you in my heart but there's no more room

Is this how we are supposed to say goodbye

And think about each other in the middle of the night

The sheets only hold me and nobody else

And nobody else but you

Can feel the hurt from the thoughts of June

Those summer nights have now come and gone

I really should have seen this coming all along

But now

But now

The leaves are changing I watch them as they fall

December's 'round the corner and she still hasn't called

And now

And now"

The final chord rang out as silence finally fell upon the two hedgehogs, signifying that the song was over. Shadow glanced over at Amy to see her smiling sheepishly at him, the sun making her jade eyes glisten brightly.

"I wasn't bad was I?"  
"No Rose, you were great"


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Sorry if the last chapter seemed rushed guys! I had a lot of different ideas going through my head and if it didn't translate well onto paper I do apologize. I hope that this chapter will clear some of that stuff up and make more sense. Here's chapter four!

Chapter 4:

Shadow reflected on the events that had transpired a week prior, questions were running wild through his brain as he tried to get a grip on what exactly he wanted. This is exactly what I was afraid of, his mind was telling him as he stood in the middle of Slacker's looking at the CD's. When he said that he wanted to be her friend, he wasn't lying or at least, that wasn't what he intended. He did want to be her friend he hated being alone, and he had only admitted that to one person and that person was Amy. His heart had once again, gotten him in trouble. Shadow picked up an album by some band called Crush 40, he looked at the song list on the back and deciding that he wasn't impressed, placed it back amongst the many CD's that were displayed. He wanted to listen to his heart but his mind kept reminding him of Controlling Chaos over and over again like a broken record. That's why every time Amy would stop by his house he wouldn't answer the door or when she would visit him at work he was so distant towards her that the conversation would just be one-sided with Amy blabbering about nothing in particular. It seems as though once more I've trapped myself in a situation and I can't get out, Shadow thought as he continued to browse through the CD collection. He sighed as he found nothing of interest after a few moments and turned to leave when suddenly he came face to face with a pink hedgehog.

"Hey Shadow, what are you doing?!" Amy asked cheerfully, as Shadow stood with a solemn look on his face, I swear to God she must have a GPS tracker on me or something, how the hell would she find me otherwise, he thought. Amy's question went unanswered as Shadow slowly walked past her towards the door. He could see the glint of hurt in her eyes but within seconds it seemed to diminish and she was back to talking to Shadow. "Silly me, I should've realized you were looking at CD's." Amy giggled as Shadow held the door open for her and began to walk down the street. Shadow had intended to go home alone and enjoy his day off after looking at some CD's at the Slackers in town but now it seemed that his plans were going to change now that he had a pink companion ready to nag him to death by his side. I got to lose her somehow, Shadow smirked at the possibilities that came to light as to how he could leave her in the dust. His heart quickly reprimanded his thoughts and scolded him, telling him that doing such a thing isn't right. It seemed mind and body were in a game of tug of war, and neither was going to give some slack, much to Shadow's dismay. The two walked in silence mostly, other than the occasional small talk from Amy that resulted in Shadow grunting or muttering one word answers, not much else blossomed from this. Shadow turned toward the pink hedgehog whose quills were covering her face as she hung her head low, staring at the concrete below her feet. He wanted to comfort her after being nothing but a world-class jerk to her but something was holding him back, it was like he was restrained by invisible chains. His mind was preventing him from taking the actions of reaching out to her and telling her that he was sorry. Shadow could feel his heartbeat quicken and he turned his head away before Amy could catch a glimpse of his slightly scarlet muzzle. Amy gave Shadow a questioning look, but proceeded to not ask him anything since most of her questions fell upon deaf ears. Why do I even bother, it's like a lost cause at this point, Amy thought as she looked to the sky, watching the clouds roll by like a 2D scroller. She loved the remarkable baby blue sky was and how the sun radiated it's magnificent aura of yellows and oranges, it always lightened her up to see how beautiful the world was when she looked up. She thought of how things have been the past week and how Shadow seemed to be growing more and more distant by the day. He confessed he wanted a friend but is it really what he wanted? It doesn't seem that way. Amy turned her attention away from the sky and back to the ebony hedgehog beside her who had his eyes closed and appeared deep in thought. What could he possibly be thinking about? Amy wondered this among other things as her mind too was abuzz with many thoughts. What can I possibly do to get through to him? I've tried everything and just when I seemed on the verge of succeeding he goes back to being a recluse! I don't know what to do, I'm starting to think that maybe there is no saving him. Maybe this was all meant to be, he will just remain the shell of a person that he has now become. Amy could feel her eyes watering and knew that at any moment tears would begin to rain down, she didn't want that. She only wanted to see Shadow open up and she promised herself that she would get him to. Amy wouldn't fail. Shadow looked over to see Amy wiping her eyes, the threatening tears now gone. He couldn't help but feel regret for the things he has done the past week, he shouldn't be doing this, he's been playing with this girl's emotions like this was some game of poker. I have everything to lose, but on the flip side I have almost nothing to gain from this, Shadow thought as he finally came to a conclusion. Oh, to hell with this, Shadow stopped abruptly and Amy who was lost in thought continued to walk until Shadow opened his mouth.

"Stop!" The word came out harsher than what was intended but it succeeded in making the pink hedgehog stop in her tracks. This was the first time that he had really been vocal about anything, and this was sparking her interests. "Come here." Shadow said in almost a growl, he wasn't angry with her, hell, he wasn't even annoyed with her, he just needed to vent the thoughts that haunted the corridors of his mind. Shadow leaned in to where he was just mere inches away from her face and in almost a whisper he asked, "How did you recognize me last week?" It was so quiet that Amy was going to ask him to repeat it but she quickly decided that probably wasn't the best option.

"I recognized you because I saw one of your shows so long ago…." She wanted to say more but she found herself trailing off and her muzzle turning red as she felt him getting even closer, their noses almost touching.

"You seem to be obsessed over this whole thing with me being in a band and since I can't seem to get you off my back about it. What do you want to know?" The question hung in the air like a fog, time seemed to stand still for the pink hedgehog, this was the moment she had been waiting for but it seemed to have almost come from out of the blue all too quickly. Her suspicions were arisen, but she didn't want him to see that she was doubting him opening up to her, she may never get this chance again. Amy was going to reply before Shadow put his index finger up to her lips, silencing her. "How about you just come back to my place, we'll talk there." Shadow released his finger from her lips and the two began to walk in silence again, awaiting what was in store for them both.

"What do you want know?" Shadow repeated his words from earlier as he poured a glass of water for Amy and did the same for himself. He exited the kitchen with the two glasses in his hand, he offered the one to Amy, who thanked him and began to take a drink of his. Amy could feel a lump forming in her throat. This was something she had been looking forward to since she first laid eyes on him at the grocery store. She needed to do this, something in heart convinced her that this was her mission, and that was to rescue Shadow from eventual self-destruction. "Why did you lie to me? You told me that I had you mistaken for someone else but I knew that you were just trying to shoo me away, so why?" Shadow nodded his head and took another drink of water before setting the glass down on the table in front of the couch.

"Because I can." Shadow replied as he looked up at Amy, who gave look at Shadow that was sharper than daggers. He felt his cockiness get stabbed and instantly he knew that he would regret acting like that. "Sorry, I was only joking there, I lied because I just don't like it when people bring up my past. I felt vulnerable because someone recognized me, after fifteen years. Fifteen years! All those years had gone by and I thought that I had fallen off the face of the Earth and that I no longer existed to those that I used to call family. Nobody called, nobody visited, the only thing I got in the mail was this." Shadow walked over to his DVD player and firmly held up the case on top that held one of his performances with Controlling Chaos. He handed it to Amy who stared at it confused, but Shadow kept going on. "I got that in the mail with a letter that had just four words. No hard feelings right? Ever since then I've just been trying to isolate myself in this cocoon and try and drown myself out to the real world since all it did was ultimately betray me and take away everything that I had." Shadow crossed his arms and closed his eyes as he could see various memories of him and the guys play within his mind like a movie. "I just wish that I could be more accepting, but I just don't know how." Amy watched in silence as Shadow sat there frozen in place, he looked almost like a statue as he seemed to not move as he was waiting for Amy to reply. She continued to hold the DVD in her hands, wondering what exactly he was talking about. She knew that he was in the band, but just what did he mean by losing his family and falling off the face of the Earth. What had happened?

"Shadow, I don't understand. You lost your family and you were betrayed and you felt like no one knew you existed. What are you talking about?" Amy's confusion was met with silence and just when she thought that he wasn't going to answer his crimson eyes suddenly shot open and his mouth twisted up into a nasty snarl.

"What do you mean you don't understand! Haven't you figured it out yet?! I was backstabbed and tossed out from Controlling Chaos! We were a family and they threw me to the wolves at the first chance they got! They didn't care that I had been their best friend! They didn't care that I wrote the songs! They didn't care that I was the frontman! They didn't care that I planned out all the gigs! They didn't care about anything! They sold out before they even had a record deal, they left me with nothing and nowhere to go but home." Shadow's yelling had now fallen to a much quieter whisper just barely audible, Amy couldn't stand it anymore. She got up and walked over to Shadow's side of the couch and held him in her arms. "For fifteen years, I tried to hide away and not be recognized for fear that if I was people would laugh at the mockery I have become. I was on top of the world but now I feel as though I'm Atlas, holding the weight of the world on my shoulders with nothing to help me free myself that is the burden of realizing everyday that I was betrayed by my brothers." Shadow's words threatened to bring tears to Amy's eyes and before she knew it, they were slowly streaming down her face. She couldn't believe her ears, Shadow had been abandoned by the band that he called his family and they left him with nothing. No wonder he wasn't willing to discuss this with anyone. She couldn't imagine anyone stronger than him now, having those memories to contend with each and everyday as you just go through the same motions when you knew you had experienced grander. The hatred he must've felt inside his heart that he carried with him for fifteen plus years must've been hard for him to bury away from those he came into contact with, Amy thought as she continued to embrace Shadow in a hug. That's why nobody has really talked to him or hung out with him outside of work, nobody wants to have a taste of that venom coursing through that heart of his. Shadow broke the hug as his crimson irises gazed at Amy, what have I done? Shadow's mind snapped at him for giving into his heart. Why had he been such a fool and let Amy inside when he knew fully well that his heart was as strong as a house of glass after a wild beast was let loose inside. Shadow looked like he was about to say something but quickly turned away from Amy, not wanting to show the hurt that dwindled inside his pools of crimson.

"Shadow, what is it? Please tell me." Amy begged for him to break the shell that he had been hiding inside of for so long. It was so comforting but it was holding him back, every step forward he made in his relationship with Amy thus far it seemed like he was taking two steps back. He wanted to shed his skin and be free, but he just couldn't find the strength within to do it.

"Amy, no. I can't do this." Shadow seemed to say this almost as if he were defeated, he wasn't going to wave the white flag on Amy's watch. Not now, not ever.

"Yes you can Shadow, please what is the matter?" Shadow placed his head in his hands and rubbed his temples as Amy's eyes softly watched him. His mind was plagued with all these fears, all these worries, all these thoughts that wouldn't leave him alone. They circled around in his mind daily like some planetary orbit, reminding him everyday just who he was and why he was where he was at. He was nothing, and that was what he was destined to be, nothing more and nothing less.

"It was fifteen years ago, we had just got done playing a show and we were celebrating backstage. I went to go and grab some beers and on my way out I bumped into this man. He had a cane and glasses and he had this evil glint in his eyes. He smiled at me and chuckled as I made my way to the bar, I didn't think much of it other than the fact that he was some freaky looking ringmaster I had bumped into backstage. I made it to the bar but since it was pretty rowdy after the show and getting the drinks out of there with a bunch of women screaming your name and coming after you made it pretty difficult." Shadow gave a faint smile at the memory as Amy gave a light laugh.

"Sounds like The Beatles to me." Shadow turned and laughed as well.

"Yeah, but I was no Paul McCartney." They both shared another moment of laughter together before Shadow returned to his story and Amy listened attentively.

"Anyways, I got the drinks and made my way back to the dressing room we had but I heard a lot of voices coming from inside so I stayed put outside the door and remained silent as I overheard their conversation taking place. I heard a deep voice tell them that they could do better without me and that they didn't need me to succeed. I was holding them back apparently, according to the deep voice that came from within the dressing room and at first the guys of Controlling Chaos stood up for me and defended me. I silently applauded them and was happy that they were defending my honor, but after a while their defense deteriorated and they gave in to the corrupted words that the deep voice had spoken. He was conspiring against me all along and the guys eventually bought into what he had to say. After I heard silence for awhile I walked in front of the entryway and made my presence known to them. I noticed the deep voice came from that circus ringmaster creep that I ran into earlier and I just became even angrier. This was all strategized. I threw my beer bottles at them and made my leave, the guys tried chasing me afterwards telling me that it wasn't what it looked like but I didn't need to hear their lies for I had heard nothing but the truth outside in the hall." Shadow closed his eyes again as he reminisced the events of that night and the numerous emotions that coursed through him. He felt the rage, the hatred, the sorrow, the betrayal, all of it. Shadow clenched his fist and before he could vent his anger brewing from those memories he felt a gentle hand place itself over his. Shadow widened his eyes and felt himself releasing the death grip he had clenched in on his fist. What is this? Shadow thought in wonder, he looked at Amy who had her eyes closed and continued to rest her hand atop of Shadow's.

"Shadow, I'm sorry to hear that happened to you. I truly am." Amy said softly as thumb began to move gracefully along the top of Shadow's hand, sending slight shivers all throughout his body. "Why do you continue to live in the past like it is the present? The past needs to stay where it belongs, if you continue to let it control your life, you won't have a future and your present will fail to exist." Amy held the sides of Shadow's face, her hands soft to the touch and Shadow was left to gaze into the pink hedgehog's beautiful jade eyes that glistened with emotion like sunshine on the ocean. "Shadow, make this life count, you only get one and I would hate to see you mess it up because you couldn't move on." Amy rested her head on Shadow's shoulder and began to weep silently. Her words had sparked something inside of Shadow, a motivation that he thought had died a long time ago. He remembered what he had said to Amy, that he had wanted to be friends, now he knew what the barrier was that was keeping that friendship divided, his past. Every word she had spoken radiated nothing but the cold, unforgiving truth. He was living in the past and because of this it controlled every outcome of his life and every time he was trying to get rid of Amy he was ignoring the endless possibilities that existed within his future. Whatever second thoughts he had about being alone and residing back into his isolationism were erased from his mind. He didn't want that anymore, and after feeling the tears that were dampening his fur he realized what he has been doing. He didn't want to live life in reverse, he had a life to look forward to.

"Amy, you're right. I'm sorry that I haven't listened to you before and I'm sorry that I have been avoiding you. I've only done so because I was unsure of what to do. The words that you have spoken to me today have given me a new clarity. I've been living my life in reverse, shrouding myself in the past and not moving forward. Every time you confronted me was like I was staring at my future dead in the eyes, I was receiving mixed feelings. I hate hatred and sadness but I also had hope. Hope that I could possibly make something new happen in my life, but it seemed no matter how much right I tried to do it was always crushed by the wrongs I would inflict. I'm sorry if I've been so cold to you but I'm not the same person I am now. I'm shedding the shell I used to call home. I want to live life and move on. For that, I thank you Rose." Amy blushed slightly at the nickname Shadow had just said but she remained in awe at his words. She had done it, she had gotten through to him. Now what? What does this mean for Shadow, Amy thought as Shadow delivered a half-smile at her. "What are you thinking of?" The question startled Amy out her awe-induced stare.

"I was just thinking, what are you going to do now? I mean, there are opportunities everywhere, which ones are you going to take." Amy watched as Shadow took a drink of his water and got up off the couch.

"Well since revenge isn't an option, I really don't know. I've never really thought about it." This realization brought the elated Shadow back down to Earth as he felt hurt by this, he hadn't really thought about anything outside of revenge and his past. He suddenly felt pathetic, like a toddler who didn't get what they wanted for Christmas. Shadow sighed as he made his way back into the kitchen and poured himself another glass of water. Amy followed him and stood beside Shadow as he held the glass in his hand but stared at the counter deep in thought. "It just seems I have nowhere to go now that I've finally opened my eyes to the self-imposed prison I've put myself in." Shadow said as Amy placed her hand on his shoulder, she could still feel her tears on his fur, it felt like morning dew on grass.  
"Sure you do! I mean you don't always have to count revenge out." Amy said with a playful smile on her face, Shadow was confused but at the same time fascinated by what she just said.

"Amy, what are you getting at?" Shadow didn't like it when people beat around the bush, he preferred if people were blunt and they just came right out and said things instead of having to go and inquire about them and pry the answers out.

"I think you know what I mean." Amy continued to smile as Shadow facepalmed, now is definitely not the time to push my patience, I already vented my emotions and put my heart on display so now is not the time to really mess with me, Shadow thought angrily.

"Amy, I have no clue what you're talking about." Shadow sighed, he felt like an idiot already having to being comforted by the pink hedgehog and most certainly didn't want to feel like an idiot because he wasn't smart enough or patient enough to solve the word puzzles of Amy Rose.

"Well you know what they say, success is the best kind of revenge" Amy winked at Shadow and suddenly it all came together and Shadow knew instantly what she had meant.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Alright so I know that things are a little slow in the beginning but I promise you all that it won't be that way for very much longer. For those of you who have given me reviews I greatly appreciate it, it gives me an idea of what to improve and what to add for the next go round of chapters so for that I give you thanks. Also, another thing I should add, when I write the performances I will only write the lyrics mostly because I want you the readers to envision what the characters look like when they perform, I think it enriches the story in my opinion but if you want me to be more descriptive during the performances throughout the story just let me know and I can change that. Now on with the story!

Chapter 5:

"Are you absolutely out of your mind Amy?" Shadow questioned as he shot the pink hedgehog a bewildered glare at the idea that she had just proposed to him. They had gone from the kitchen into Shadow's room where Amy insisted that she unveil his plan to him. He didn't really know why she wanted to go to his room but he didn't really want to argue, not after the heartwarming moment they had downstairs. Maybe she just wanted to see what it looks like, the ebony hedgehog thought as he looked over to see that Amy was now looking through Shadow's CD collection. She fiddled through the many disc cases on the shelf, stopping every now and then to take a look before moving on to see what else there was. She was truly fascinated with some of the treasures that he was in possession from. She stopped to take a look at a Led Zeppelin album, what a bunch of dinosaurs, she thought as she put it back. She paused her expedition of finding out Shadow's musical tastes and began explaining her idea that suddenly came to her in the kitchen. Shadow listened intently, his heart growing heavy with every word she was saying. He thought the idea was brilliant, he couldn't believe he hadn't thought of it before after all the years he spent wallowing in self-pity and dwelling in his hatred and anger. He loved the idea of extracting his revenge upon those he deemed fit to be on the receiving end it. However, he was doubtful in his abilities to carry out said revenge. Amy continued to go on and on with her idea and how Shadow could once again reach superstardom. He had almost achieved it once and it destroyed his life, he was just now starting to rebuild it and he didn't want to exactly dive headfirst into something that if it it didn't go according to plan, would cause him to fall into a downward spiral that he would never be able to recover from.

"Shadow, I think that this a great idea, you can't tell me that it isn't." Amy looked over at the ebony hedgehog who was now just sulking on the bed, the cogs of his mind turning as he thought her idea over. It wasn't all that bad, but at the same time I don't think I'm up for this thing, Shadow thought as he gazed over to Amy who was looking at the "Peace Sells...But Who's Buyin?" album by Megadeth. He laughed humorously to himself as she shuddered at the cover and continued to browse through the many CD's on the shelf.

"I think that this idea of yours is a little too much for me," Shadow spoke, voicing his thoughts and concerns. " I mean first off, what if it doesn't work? Secondly, I played a long time ago, I'm washed up and I'm not as good as I once was." Amy put a hold on her CD expedition to turn to Shadow, she laughed at his statement, earning herself a glare from the ebony hedgehog. "Is there something funny?" Shadow questioned, his tone sharp at the fact that he was being made fun of.

"Yes, actually there is. What you just said about being washed up and not as good as you once were. Do you not remember when you sang that song with me a little over a week ago? You clearly still have it, I just think someone's afraid." Shadow let out a defiant "Hmph." before turning his back on her.

"Am not." Shadow declared.

"Are too." Amy responded, "I think you need to get back out there and show the world what you are made of, you have talent Shadow. Those guys that betrayed you like that need to be knocked off their high horse. That's why I think you should go out and play again. Play some more shows, play with a band, get signed, and who cares if you don't reach stardom? As long as you say that you gave it your all, I'd say that that in itself is succeeding." Shadow turned back to her as he acknowledged the deep meaning inside of her words. This is one reason why he liked having her around, she isn't afraid to speak what is on her mind and speak words that resonate down to the core. He gazed into her jade green eyes that sparkled with a fiery passion he hadn't seen before, she took this seriously, she had invested faith into him. He just had to find it within himself now to actually go forth with Amy's plan. He still was unsure, these were dangerous waters he was treading. What if the end result is the same as the last time? Shadow wondered as he imagined being left alone again, I don't think I could deal with that kind of emotional turmoil a second time.

"I'll think about it." As soon as the words left Shadow's mouth, he instantly regretted them. He really did like Amy's plan, he really did. She had the noblest and sincerest of intentions but he was wary of what the future had. He had accepted his past and was ready to move on but he just wanted to carefully navigate his way. Amy turned away as she she shuffled through the many pieces of notebook paper scattered across his desk. It looks like a tornado rolled through here, Amy thought as a piece of paper suddenly caught her eye. It had spidery-like writing on it and she glanced at the top of the paper where the words "Nothing Else", were scrawled.

"What's this?" Amy wondered aloud as she held the paper up to read.

"That would be a song I wrote a while ago." Shadow said as he tried to snatch the paper away from the pink hedgehog, he didn't want her to read his lyrics, after all they were still in development.

"Now you got me curious Shadow." Amy held the paper away from Shadow and laughed as he struggled to grab it from her. "C'mon Shadow, I just want to read it." Shadow was beginning to have enough of this cat and mouse game and after a couple of minutes he was able to corner her.

"Give me the paper or your plan goes out the window." Shadow threatened as he stood just inches away from Amy, his piercing crimson eyes glaring at the pink hedgehog before him.

"Are you seriously doing this right now?" Amy asked as Shadow continued to get closer till he was right next to her ear.

"Yes, don't make me resort to other tactics." Shadow whispered as Amy suddenly felt chills go down her spine, Amy gave a mental note to herself to never have Shadow whisper in her ear again, it was just plain creepy. Amy forked over the paper and Shadow smiled evilly as he let out a deep chuckle.

"Um...did I miss something?" Amy was definitely confused at the situation that was transpiring, Shadow continued to laugh for a moment before suddenly ceasing it to speak.

"I just find it funny that I was able to get a piece of paper from you so easily, especially when I said your plan wouldn't happen." Shadow looked down at the piece of paper for a few seconds before looking back to Amy who was now pouting and had both hands on her hips.

"That's unfair you know, since you said you were still thinking about it."

"But who said life is fair?" Shadow retorted, leaving Amy speechless as Shadow walked to other side of the room and picked up his acoustic guitar resting on his stand, and set down the piece of paper on his bed.

"By the way, I still am thinking about it. I'll let you know when I come up with an answer." Shadow said sarcastically as the pink hedgehog just crossed her arms, watching him.

"What are you doing?" Amy asked, wondering just what Shadow was doing as he fidgeted with his guitar before turning to her.

"Well since you wouldn't leave me alone about what was on that paper. I thought I'd give you some insight as to what it is." Shadow responded, and before anything further could be said the ebony hedgehog began to strum slowly, the melody reverberating around the whole room as Amy embraced the notes that sounded so bittersweet. Shadow's crimson pools locked on Amy as he started to sing the words.

"These nights, bleed into days

Left here, all alone in disarray"

Amy smiled as she was listening to Shadow sing, his voice sounded so warm but also so dark at the same time. It put her on edge and she loved it.

"I've got so much, so much I want to say

Like how a drifting heart, decided to take it all away

Pictures share, share our time in fragments

I know it all sounds so tragic, but I've got

Nothing else to hang on to

Precious seconds turn into bittersweet moments

But how can I be sure

When everything around me is starting to blur

Is this what is meant to be

Or is there nothing else left for me

These days turn into years

They've made me change, and made me dwell on my darkest fears

It's come down to this, I'm exhausted of wasting tears

I've left everything so far behind

I still have so much left to find

When there's

Nothing else to say to you

Because I just couldn't get through

You built these barriers

That just wouldn't come down

Now I'm a ghost

Just another face

You can't seem to recognize

Even after all this time

I'm so far

Yet I'm so close

It's the feeling that I hate the most

I'm so far

It's what tore us apart

I wish we could go back to the start

I'm so far away

And now my world has been set aflame

Are we ever going to feel the same

I'm so far away

And now I'm moving on

Just remember this when I'm gone

Shadow slowly picked out the final chord before a silence fell upon the room. Shadow got up and put his guitar back on it's stand before turning back to Amy who stood there awestruck.

"That was amazing!" Amy squealed as the fangirl inside of her was unleashed and poor Shadow was the recipient of all of its praise.

"Yes, It's still a work in progress but so far that's all I have." Shadow was barely able to get the last few words out before he felt himself being embraced by an immensely strong bear hug. The ebony hedgehog thought his head was going to explode like that one guy's in the movie "Scanners" because his body was being squeezed like someone who was pissed off trying to get last glob of toothpaste out of the tube.

"Well I thought it sounded wonderful just the way it is." Amy said as she released Shadow, whose face had turned slightly red, he looked away from her as he thanked her. Amy was getting ready to say something more but she glanced over to see the time on Shadow's clock.

"Oh my goodness! I have to be somewhere right in just a few minutes so I must get going." Shadow was taken by surprise as Amy's abrupt change in behavior, as she scrambled to run down the stairs. The ebony hedgehog followed in pursuit as Amy finally reached the door, just as she was about to leave, something crossed her mind. "Hey Shadow?" Amy called out for him as he was only a few paces behind her.

"Yes?" He responded slightly irritated, wondering what she could want now.

"I'll be gone for a couple hours but since I have nothing to do tonight. I was wondering…" Amy drifted off her face turning a light tint of red. Shadow just continued to stare, waiting for her to spit what she had to say out, geez, this girl was really working a number on him.

"What?!" Shadow shouted, wondering what the hell she was wanting to say, patience wasn't one of his strongest qualities and he didn't mean for it to come out so hurtful but that's what it ended up doing. However, Amy must've been used to it or she simply didn't care because she was so busy planning out what to say she didn't hear him. Either way, it was a win-win for Shadow.

"I was wondering if you wanted to go to the carnival with me tonight." Shadow gave her a questioning look. The carnival? Was she crazy? I don't do bright colors, let alone I don't want to deal with little kids roaming around the damn place. Shadow was going to say no, he really was but something prevented him from doing so. He looked at Amy who delivered a light hearted smile that made Shadow's heart almost skip a beat. I swear, this girl will be the death of me, Shadow thought as he let out a sigh. God, she's defeated me once again.

"Sure. I'll go." Shadow answered much to the delight of the already giddy pink hedgehog.

"Alright, did you want to meet up with me at the carnival at seven? It's taking place just a few minutes away from here on Blake St."

"Sounds like a plan." Shadow told her, and with those words she quickly departed, leaving the ebony hedgehog alone in his home. Shadow half-smiled as he reflected on the day, Amy has brought me out of my shell somehow, in that regard he was impressed. He never thought that he would see the day that he would actually open himself up, to an extent of course, to anyone, let alone someone who seemed almost the exact opposite of him. It seemed like the old saying is true, "opposites do attract." I swear this is destiny intervening, Shadow thought as he returned to his room to clean up the many pieces of notebook paper that were on his desk. What if this is a sign though, what if I am supposed to return to my roots and seek redemption? It may seem like a long shot but Amy may be onto something, I think I know what has to be done but I still have time to weigh my options. The question is, how will I know which one is right? Shadow pondered this as he looked at the time on his clock.

"4:45." Shadow spoke aloud as he went to his closet and grabbed some clothes and began making his way to the bathroom. 'I still have time." He shut the door and turned on the water to hot as he undressed, preparing himself to get ready for the night that he was going to spend with Amy Rose.

Alright! So that does it for this chapter. Originally this chapter was supposed to be a lot longer but I decided to split it into two just so that it flows better. Let me know what you think and what more you want to see. Until next time, leave me reviews and comments I really do appreciate them. See ya!


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Alright guys, here we go! The chapter that you all have been waiting for! It's been a lot of fluff and development and I know it's been kind of hard to deal with but this chapter is the turning point of the story. This is where the true story begins and I'm so excited to type this one out! Reviews and feedback are greatly appreciated! Anyways, back to the story!

Chapter 6:

The night sky was littered with countless stars that shined like pearls that cast it's glow down on Metropolis. Shadow gazed up at the sky, his eyes lost in the endless amount of stars that hung in the darkened sky. His thoughts were running rampant as he continued to stare off, his mind on the impending time he was going to spend with no one else but Amy Rose. Geez, why am I so nervous? Me of all people nervous? Ha, what a silly notion, Shadow thought as his gaze drifted from the gentle night sky to the wondrous carnival behind him. He had been there a few minutes early because he thought that Amy might have already been there but it turns out that she wasn't, which left Shadow alone to deal with his thoughts until the pink hedgehog finally did show up. Shadow stood with his arms crossed as he looked at the blinding array of neon, bright colors that decorated the carnival. The area was filled with nothing but laughter and loud chatter, screams of delight rang out from the wooden roller coaster and the tilt-a-whirl, and the Tunnel of Love was certainly making everyone around it lovey-dovey. Shadow cringed at the thought of being stuck in there with Amy. Oh please God no, anything but that, I wouldn't wish that fate upon my worst enemy, not even Sonic, Shadow smirked at the thought of Sonic being trapped inside a ridiculously cliche love-themed ride with probably the biggest fangirl the world has ever seen. He could see it now, the pink hedgehog smothering him to death with massive hugs and covering his face in kisses as Sonic struggled to free himself from her grasp and make an escape. He laughed for a little bit at the scene being played out in his head, it was like it was something straight out of a cartoon or something. Shadow quickly finished his fit of laughter as he was already earning stares from the various carnival attendees and continued to watch the people inside having their fun. That's when a sudden question caught the forefront of Shadow's attention, why does she want revenge just as badly as I do? Shadow pondered it for a moment, however he kept reaching dead ends and he just couldn't draw to a conclusion why she would want revenge. Every idea Shadow had was quickly disregarded and thrown out the window because the notions were just so ridiculous that only conspiracy theorists from the internet would probably buy into it. Maybe, she had a history with him of sorts? No, that can't be it, I would've at least known about it because Sonic would've told me. Shadow continued to think and think, his mind was like the damn Energizer Bunny, it just kept going and going. Hmmmmm...oh! Maybe, she only knows him from what I've told her thus far and she's just cashing in on my personal vendetta to help me achieve revenge. This was the only idea of Shadow's that had made any real sort of sense but the more he thought about it the more questions that came up from just having this one idea. He thought back to when they had their sincere friendship moment a while back, he remembered her singing and beautiful and melodic her voice rang out as it melded with his. No one just knows how to sing like that and never utilizes it, Shadow's mind was going crazy the more and more he continued to think. Various thoughts were pinging around in his head like a game of Pong from Hell. Just as soon as he was beginning to dawn on probably the greatest mystery of his life, a voice shook him from his quest to put an end to his ambitious, yet stupid theories.

"Shadow! You in there?!" Shadow shook his head and quickly his eyes focused on the emerald ones that were right in front of him. "I called out to you a few times but you were just staring out into nothing, are you okay?" The concern in her voice was quite amusing to the ebony hedgehog, who had only moments before been lost in his own outrageous thoughts, he was fine but clearly his mind wasn't. He wasn't going to tell the pink hedgehog in front of him that, no, he would bide his time and ask her those questions later.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry, I was just deciding on which ride I wanted to go on first." Shadow replied, forcing a smile. Luckily for him, the pink hedgehog bought it and didn't even notice that Shadow seemed troubled by something.

"Well then, let's go!" Amy rushed over to where the ticket booth was, Shadow close behind. When they had finally secured their place in line they stood patiently, waiting to pay for their tickets. Amy looked Shadow up and down, admiring his attire.

"You know Shadow, you look really nice tonight." Amy complimented as Shadow immediately froze in place. Jesus, no! This isn't happening, Shadow thought as he turned away slightly to hide his face that had turned a faint tint of scarlet. The ebony hedgehog was never that much of a ladies man back when he was with Controlling Chaos, they would swarm him sure, but he was always the quiet and rather shy member of the group. To this day, that quality of his personality still remained and now here he was, reliving those days as the guy who didn't know the first thing about women. I mean it's not like he didn't try to look good tonight, he really did want to look nice for Amy, he just didn't want to send mixed signals. Shadow was wearing a leather jacket, that had crimson stripes lining the sides of the arms, and wore a red t-shirt with a hand holding a record on it, in addition to that he wore black jeans that had chains attached to the belt loops on his jeans. He didn't think he overdid it, but apparently now that Amy was flirting with him, he was reconsidering the fact that maybe he did go overboard.

"Thanks, you look nice too." Shadow mumbled his compliment, not really wanting Amy to overhear what he said to her. Amy just smiled as she watched Shadow seemingly squirm at her compliment, it was rather hilarious to watch him in this situation. After a couple minutes of Amy silently laughing at the blushing ebony hedgehog, they finally made it to the ticket booth.

"Hello! How many tickets?" The ticket clerk asked as he looked the hedgehog pair over.

"Two please!" Amy replied as she handed him the money to purchase the tickets. The ticket clerk ripped off a couple of purple tickets and extended them to Amy.

"Here you go! Two tickets for a lovely couple. Be sure to check out the Tunnel of Love ride that we have!" Oh my God! He didn't just say that, did he? Shadow's face went from a slight red to a very flushed crimson that matched the color of his stripes.

"For the love of Chaos and everything holy we are not a couple!" Shadow yelled out in anger as the ticket clerk slightly cowered in fear, but still held a goofy smile plastered on his face.

"Whatever you say man! She looks like a keeper!" He gave Shadow a thumb's up as the ebony hedgehog just grumbled obscenities under his breath as Amy handed him his ticket. This night is just getting better and better, Shadow thought bitterly as he marched his way inside the carnival. Amy tried to stifle a laugh at the ebony hedgehog's behavior but at this rate it was impossible to. Within seconds, a hysterical giggle erupted from her mouth and filled the night air, Shadow turned to her, anger in his eyes.

"What's so damn funny Rose?" His rage laced his words and Amy didn't even care how angry Shadow was, he was cracking her up so much that she just had to let it out.

"Shadow, you're acting so silly right now! I think he knows we are just friends going out for a night of fun. He was probably just trying to push your buttons, and boy did he!" Amy's explanation did make sense, but at the same time Shadow didn't find it amusing.

"Oh yeah?! Well why in the world would he tell us about the Tunnel of Love ride? Do friends go on that together?" Shadow seethed with anger, he didn't know why he was so worked up about it, he just was. He felt bad about taking it out on Amy but he honestly didn't know else he would vent all of this out.

"Um, yes." Amy responded, much to the disapproval of Shadow.

"Oh really? I'm pretty sure it's the most cliche ride to go on in any relationship!" At this point, Shadow's face was burning up. With every word he felt like his face was melting and that at any moment his face would drip off like pieces of candle wax.

"Are you implying that we are in a relationship?" Amy flirtatiously asked, leaving Shadow stunned in place. He looked as though he saw lobsters crawling out of someone's ears, the awe that painted his face was enough to make Amy laugh all over again.  
"No, I….uh….no…." Shadow's speaking skills had just diminished in the blink of an eye, he didn't know what to say. He was trapped, he had his back to the wall, there was no way out of this. Amy stepped closer to Shadow and her eyes met his, in that moment Shadow could've sworn he saw a mischievous twinkle in those eyes but it was her words that he was focused on.

"It's okay, maybe someday." Amy whispered into his ears, leaving the ebony hedgehog dumbfounded and speechless, how was he supposed to respond to that? Apparently he wasn't supposed to as the pink hedgehog grabbed him tightly by his wrist. "Enough of this! Let's go ride some rides!" Amy yelled with delight as she dragged Shadow at frightening speed across to the carnival to one of the attractions. Shadow watched as colors and and people flew by in a blur and in his heart he knew that he was in for the time of his life. It's going to be a long night, Shadow thought as the pink hedgehog still held onto him, pulling him in tow.

After a couple of hours, the atmosphere between the two hedgehogs had grown lighter, they had gone on the tilt-a-whirl, and the giant slide several times, and had played numerous carnival games, now the hedgehog pair were roaming aimlessly across the grounds, wondering what in the world to do next.

"We should ride the roller coaster next." Shadow offered with a grin as Amy shook her head, shuddering at the thought of the creaking noise the coaster makes when you are making your way towards the top.

"No thank you, I pass. I don't do roller coasters. Plus we haven't done the rides I want to do yet." Amy replied as they continued to wander around, the colored lights and stars casting a warm glow upon them.

"What rides do you want to ride?" Shadow asked, he never once heard her mention what she wanted to do all night, or maybe she did and he didn't pay attention. Who knows? It could've been either or.

"I want to ride the Ferris Wheel." Amy said, forming a pouting look on her face. With her quills parted and her face trying to give Shadow the puppy dog treatment, it was almost impossible for Shadow to resist and say no. However, Shadow shook his head, she wasn't going to win this game.

"How is it you won't ride a roller coaster which is only in the air for thirty seconds, but you will ride in a massive wheel that puts you a hundred feet in the air and slowly lowers you down?" Shadow questioned, genuinely confused by Amy's logic.

"It's peaceful though!" Amy responded, Shadow just shook his head, here goes the bickering again.

"You don't make sense." Shadow teased as Amy stuck her tongue out at him.

"Oh yeah? What are you gonna do about it?" Amy mocked Shadow as a thought occurred to him. He smiled devilishly, and Amy feared what was going through the mind of the ebony hedgehog before her.

"Um...what are you thinking about?" Amy asked, afraid of what possible idea Shadow just had.

"How about this, I'll ride the Ferris Wheel, if you ride the roller coaster, and you have to sit in the very front." Shadow offered, the pink hedgehog shook her head in fright.

"No! I told you I don't do roller coasters." Amy said as Shadow just continued to smirk.

"Well then unfortunately for you, I don't do Ferris Wheels then." A silence fell amongst the two of them. Shadow crossed his arms with a knowing smirk, he was going to win this, and he was going to win this with a clean sweep. It had come to this stalemate and Amy wasn't going to give in, but what choice did she have? She wanted Shadow to get on the Ferris Wheel with her but Shadow was too stubborn for his own good. This one time she would let him win, just this once. Amy let out a sigh of regret as she hung her head low in defeat.

"Okay, let's go the roller coaster." Shadow was beaming ear to ear on the inside, it was now his turn to grab her by the wrist and drag her to the roller coaster. As they were making their way over to the coaster however, Shadow's stomach let out a massive growl, similar to that of a grizzly bear stopping the two hedgehogs in their tracks.

"Well I'd say someone's hungry, no wonder you were so grumpy earlier." Amy jokingly said as Shadow held his hand over his stomach.

"You can say that again, you wanna grab something to eat?" Shadow asked, as Amy pulled out her wallet.

"You don't have to say that again." Amy said, and in a flash she was already bolting towards one of the food booths. Shadow decided that he would just let her go and get it, he could wait for her for a couple minutes. She ordered a couple of hot dogs and two things of cotton candy for her and Shadow. As she was handed her food by the food booth worker she heard something on his portable radio in the back. She took her food and made her way to the side of the booth where the door was open, she could hear a familiar tune playing. It was Thoughts of June by Controlling Chaos. She couldn't believe her ears, this is the song I sang with Shadow a while ago, Amy thought wondrously as she continued to hear the song play out, she mouthed the words as the song came to its finish and quickly went to commercial break. Amy decided that this was her cue to leave when all of a sudden voices came onto the radio, and her eyes widened at what those voices on the radio had to say.

"Hello everyone! Jeff Laker here from E123 Alt. Rock Nation, and I'm here today to greet and interview the mighty, Controlling Chaos!" The radio host extended his hand to shake the band members' hands as they made their way into the studio room. After they had all shaken the radio host's hand they sat down around him, ready to be interviewed. "So guys, how have you been? You guys are fresh off of touring and you have a new album in the works, I've heard how is that all coming along?" Jeff asked, Sonic was the one to answer first.

"It's been great actually, we have a lot of good chemistry working in the studio with one another and the songs flow naturally, thankfully we have been blessed with having a successful career that has given us so much and in return has allowed us to give back in return." Sonic turned to Knuckles who then answered Jeff's question next.

"It really has been an adventure with this new album, we just keep coming up with new ideas and we have just been really inspired, one thing that amazes me is this guys' lead guitar playing over here." Knuckles, patted Silver's back as he continued to talk, "This guy has been absolutely phenomenal to work with both in and out of the studio and let me tell you this guy can shred. I'm so glad we picked this guy up when we did, it made us realize that we didn't need Shadow to reach our full potential."

"Agreed!" Tails yelled out as Jeff looked at each of the members before asking another question.

"Speaking of Silver, what has it been like having a career like yours? It's been successful no doubt about it, having seven platinum albums and countless number one hits, lavish world tours, what is it like looking back?"

"See that's the funny thing, we don't really stop to look back," Sonic addressed, "instead we kind of just go our own way and we do what we like whenever we like. We have had a successful career but we did that, nobody else. We changed our sound and instead of being hair metal like when we started out." The rest of the guys snickered as the remembered those horrendous days back when they first started in the garage. "However, we forged ahead with a heavier and grungier sound that we carried into today and we owe much of our success to that and working with Silver who has been able to provide us with some of the best songs that we could have possibly ever come up with." Jeff nodded his head, taking all of this in, he was enjoying their answers he really was but he felt as though it was time to move away from the band and ask a more personal question.

"Tails, here's a question for you, what's it feel like to know that you will soon be a married man?" Tails' face blushed profusely as the guys of Controlling Chaos laughed at him. It was true, soon he was to be married to Cream, his love of almost twenty years. How she had stayed with him for that long without getting pissed at him for his rock n roll lifestyle and antics he never did know. However, he was just grateful that she did.

"It feels amazing, probably the most euphoric feeling on the planet." Tails admitted as the rest of the guys continued to poke fun at Tails for being so sincere with his answer.

"Too bad he can't get laid anymore from the groupies." Knuckles blurted out to much laughter from the guys.

"Well at least I can keep a girl in a bedroom for longer than five minutes." Tails countered as the echidna quickly began to fall into a rage.

"I told you that was one time!" Knuckles yelled as Tails continued to smirk.

"Sure it was." Tails replied as the red echidna began to stand up from his seat.

"I'll show you, ya little brat!" Knuckles screamed as he lurched towards Tails, however he was quickly caught by both Sonic and Silver who had to restrain him. Jeff didn't have the faintest clue as to how to defuse the situation so he just stayed put in his seat, thinking of yet another question to ask. An idea came to him, and with a smile he asked.

"So you guys announced yesterday that you are holding a contest? Care to shed some more light on that?" The question was enough to calm the four battling bandmates into a stalemate, they all sat back down in their seats and Sonic, chose to take the mantle as leader and answer the question.

"Yeah, so the contest is very simple. All you have to do is send in a demo tape of your band, or if you are a solo artist just send in a recording of yourself and our record company will review it. If we like it enough not only will you get a one album record deal, you will also have the opportunity to open for Controlling Chaos on our upcoming world tour this summer! Just send in your tapes to Killswitch records and the executives will choose the winner! Send them in by the end of August and we will announce the winner September first! Good luck!" Jeff thanked the guys for coming onto the show and shook their hands once again as they made their way out the room since that was all the time that they had.

"We will be right back after these messages." Jeff said as the station went to commercial break.

Amy continued to hold the food in her hands as she stood in awe at what she heard on the radio. A contest? This is a golden opportunity! Amy thought excitedly as she thought of her and Shadow winning and being able to record an album together. Shadow is going to need a band though, him and I can't just do this alone, he needs to branch out and get help from other musicians, and I think I know someone who can do just that. I just don't think I should tell him that the contest is being held by Controlling Chaos, that would make him not want to do it, I'll just not tell him, Amy thought worriedly at what would happen if Shadow did find out that Amy was withholding information like that from him. He'll find out eventually, but by then he will have already succeeded so it won't matter as much. The pink hedgehog had finally decided that she was going to take matters into her own hands. She had promised herself that she would help Shadow succeed and get his revenge at all costs, as well as her own revenge. Finally that blue hedgehog will get his coming to him, from both me and Shadow. He deserves it after everything he has done to the both of us. Amy's muzzle had now formed a confident smile as she walked back towards Shadow with the food, he had his back turned to her not even noticing her approaching him.

"You're going to get yours finally, Sonic the Hedgehog."

A/N: So what does this all mean? Stay tuned to find out! I've decided that I'll try to update every Thursday if I can if not expect it by the end of the weekend, but even then with college and work I can't make promises, but I can promise you is a good story! Till next time!


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Hey guys! I'm finally back! Sorry about not updating last week, Spring Break came and I had a lot of things on my plate to do deal with and still am and on top of that, I lost my rough draft for this chapter! I had to go back and rewrite it but in the end I think the finished result came out better than my intended previous draft. I hope you guys all enjoy! Reviews and Comments are much appreciated and I want to thank all of you who have read my story and have stuck around to read what I have to offer, I know it's been slow but it is slowly starting to pick up. Invisible readers, you haven't gone unnoticed either and I want to thank you guys too! Well enough of me talking, ON WITH THE STORY!

Chapter 7:

"Please! Please! Please!" Amy was begging Shadow like a two year old to play one of the carnival games, he hadn't rode the Tilt-a-Whirl with her so this was the least he could do for her.

"No." Shadow stated as he continued walking, Amy stood in place pouting, she knew Shadow would realize that she wasn't with him eventually. Shadow kept going and going but a couple moments later he did turn to notice that Amy was still by the game booth waiting for him.

"Amy, c'mon, let's go." Shadow advanced back towards her and grabbed her arm to pull her away when she shrugged him off.

"Oh Shadow! Just play the game for me! I just want the Teddy Bear! If you don't do this for me then I will have to drag you on the Tunnel of Love!" Amy winked and blew a kiss, Shadow dealt an evil glare at her, but he knew she had him beat. Shadow would have downright refused but he would never, ever, ever, ever, step foot on that ride again. That was enough for Shadow to play and win her that teddy bear, he couldn't stand the torture of being trapped in the darkness with a fangirl like her.

"Go get 'em tiger." Amy giggled as she handed him a five dollar bill and Shadow made his way towards the man running the game booth. He was a big and burly man with a massive white mustache and long flowing white hair.

"Step right up and win a prize! All you have to do is land a ring on top of the green bottle!" The man announced, clamoring for the attention of the tons of people walking by, Shadow walked up to the man and handed him his five dollars, the man gave him five rings and Shadow gazed at the sea of red bottles and the one green bottle that was right in the middle. He turned to see Amy standing a couple feet away, beaming a bright smile at him and waving excitedly.

"Good grief, I can't believe I'm doing this." Shadow said as he threw the first ring, it pinged off of one of the red bottles and fell to the ground with a thump.

"Oooooh. Nice try." The mustached man said as Shadow just ignored him. He held the next ring in his hand and gave it a light toss. Once again the ring pinged off of another one of the red bottles and fell to the ground.

"You almost had it! You can do it Shadow!" Amy shouted, trying to encourage the ebony hedgehog.

"What the hell is this, the bottom of the ninth?" Shadow questioned angrily as his third and fourth attempts at getting the ring to land on top of the green bottle failed. Shadow gritted his teeth, irritated that he couldn't do something as simple as win a prize in a carnival game. Without even thinking he threw the final ring at the first red bottle in front of him, he watched it ping off the bottle and go upwards, it flew up in the air and spun around and around before falling back down...and landing on top of the green bottle!

"Congratulations! You just won! Now pick your prize!" The mustached man announced, making his way over to Shadow. The smell of olive oil covered the man and it was enough to make Shadow cough before taking a couple steps away from him.

"I'll just take the teddy bear." The ebony hedgehog said in a rush, he just wanted to get away from the weird smelling man.

"Why of course! Here you are! One giant teddy bear for the lovely lady!" The pink hedgehog blushed profusely as she held the giant teddy bear, it's legs were just barely dangling above the ground.

"Alright, let's leave." Shadow said gruffly as the two started to make their way out of the carnival. Once again, your attempts have failed Amy. Shadow thought proudly as the two walked in silence, the glowing lights and delighted screams fading behind them.

"Do you want me to walk you home?" Shadow offered to Amy who just shook her head.

"No, it's okay. I can walk home myself. I'll walk you back to your house though." Amy said as Shadow nodded and they headed towards Shadow's home.

"Thanks for the teddy bear Shadow." Amy teased as Shadow just rolled his eyes, she was such a child sometimes.

"Don't worry about it, it was nothing." Shadow said as reflected back on the night he had with the pink hedgehog next to him. It was the most fun that he had been able to have in quite a while. They rode the roller coaster (Amy's horrified facial expressions and terrified screams was comedic gold for him, although she didn't find it funny), they rode the ferris wheel (which was actually a lot of fun because of the star gazing the two were able to do from the top), and even eating a lot of carnival food was a ton of fun with her. He couldn't quite place it but he had a feeling that she was going to be a lot more important than he realized in the near future. For what purpose, he didn't know, but something told him that he was looking at someone that will be there for him no matter what. It was a nice feeling to have and Shadow hoped that he would never lose it, especially after the wonderful night he was able to spend with her. The only sad thing is that she seemed to know an awful lot about him, but he didn't really know anything about her. It was kind of strange to see their friendship so one sided in that fact that she seemed to know him just for being who he is, like she was there the whole time as his friend but she was a complete and total stranger in his eyes. He didn't want to see her like that, he wanted to know more about her, it was only fair.

"Hey, Amy?" Shadow asked, breaking the mutual silence between them. Amy looked up at him, her emerald eyes sparkling in the light of the moon.

"Yes, Shadow?" Amy responded, still clinging on tightly to the teddy bear.

"Something has been bothering me, something I want to share with you." Shadow stated, as Amy looked at him, interested in what he was wanting to say to her.

"What is it?" Amy asked, as the two turned a street corner and started heading down the street Shadow's house was on.

"It's just that, you know a lot about me, but I don't know anything really about you. No offense to you but you're almost like a complete stranger to me. I want to know more about you." Shadow confessed as a light blush crept onto the pink hedgehog's face.

"Well what do you want to know about me?" Amy asked, wondering what the answer would be to her own question.

"I don't know, anything really." Shadow mumbled as they arrived at his house.

"Tell you what, how about you come over to my place on Monday night? That will you give you a couple of days from now to think about what you want to ask me, the mysterious pink friend of yours." Amy suggested, it was an idea that Shadow truly liked, this would be the perfect opportunity to have some questions answered.

"Certainly, what time?" Shadow asked eagerly.

"How does eight sound?"

"Sounds great." Shadow replied as he opened the door to his house, he was about to step inside when Amy said his name. He turned to face her, waiting for what she was going to say, she stepped towards him and gave him a kiss on his cheek.

"Thank you for everything tonight Shadow, I really appreciate it." With those words she left the ebony hedgehog a blushing mess on his doorstep. He stepped inside his house, a smile slowly growing on his face as the memory of her kiss on his cheek kept replaying inside his mind.

"I still got it." Shadow replied smugly as he headed up the stairs, ready to go to bed.

Amy entered her house and shut the door behind her. She was so excited at how much fun she had just had with the ebony hedgehog tonight. It was all according to plan, he was opening up to her, at this rate he was sure to succeed in the contest that she was planning on putting him in. She wanted to see him come out on top and bring Controlling Chaos to its knees for all the wrongdoing that its frontman, Sonic had done. However, Shadow couldn't just do it alone, he needed help to get to the top, and Amy knew just the person who could help. She hadn't talked to her in years but she did owe Amy a couple of favors since they went way back and have known each other since college. Amy pulled out her cell phone and went to her contacts. She found the person she was looking for she dialed the number and prayed for the person to answer their phone. The phone rang for a few seconds before a flirtatious voice answered.

"Hello Amy, it's been a while."

Monday couldn't have come any faster for the ebony hedgehog. After the carnival he had a couple of insanely busy days at work and Shadow was absolutely exhausted. He had come home Monday afternoon and had taken another shower to freshen up. Shadow put on some black dress slacks and a black Hardline T-Shirt. He was ready for tonight's dinner with Amy, he had thought long and hard about his questions that he was going to ask and he was eager to know the answers. Shadow glanced down at his phone at the address that Amy had given him to her house. After Shadow had brushed his teeth and made sure that he had everything he needed, he left the house, not knowing that he would soon be embarking on an adventure that not even he could have prepared himself for.

Amy heard a knock at the door as she set the two dinner plates down on the table.

"Come in!" She announced as Shadow stepped inside and closed the door behind him. Shadow took in the place around him, it was very neat and meticulous with everything being sorted or cleaned. The walls of the living room were a light cream color and several book shelves were lined up against the walls. All the blankets were folded neatly and all sorts of papers were stacked nicely and placed on top of the table right beside the couch. He could tell that she had worked like a machine to clean up everything just for having him over tonight. The thought brought a smile to his face and as he went into the kitchen he noticed the walls were maroon but that wasn't the only thing that caught his attention. He smelled the wonderful aroma of lasagna. The delightful smell made his mouth water and he just couldn't wait to dig in.

"Well hello there stranger." Shadow teased as Amy lightly slapped his shoulder, he pulled out her seat for her to sit at before making his way to his seat. Shadow looked down at his plate to see a massive portion of lasagna on his plate. Shadow couldn't help but pick up his fork and begin to slowly shovel it inside his watering mouth. Shadow could have cried tears of joy, it was the most amazing dinner he has ever had. It was like it was cooked from the heavens, it was absolutely amazing. If it hadn't been for Amy trying to make conversation with him, Shadow would have forgotten what tonight's purpose was all about and would have proceeded to eat until no more lasagna remained.

"Shadow? You okay there?" Amy asked nervously as she watched Shadow finish his plate in no time and shut his eyes, a food coma already in progress.

"Yeah, I'm perfectly fine. You're cooking on the other hand though, is spectacular." Shadow complimented as Amy smiled lightly, she wasn't used to having people over so hearing this was great to her but she was also nervous, she knew something was going to happen later and she didn't know how Shadow would react to it, but she couldn't dwell on such negative thoughts, she shook them from her head and turned her attention back to Shadow.

"Thank you! Ummmmm….so….you got a question for me?" Amy fumbled the sentence out, not sure how to approach the topic fortunately for her though Shadow seemed ready to ask his questions.

"Yeah, so how exactly do you know me? I remember you saying you were at one of Controlling Chaos' shows but I can't seem to remember you for the life of me." Amy thought for a while as to how to go about this question. She didn't know if she should tell him about her past with Sonic but at the same time she felt it was going to come up sooner or later, she decided to play it safe and tell him. She continued to think for a couple moments as to how she was going to open up this bag of worms on Shadow but she decided to just wing it.

"Okay, so it was back seventeen years ago, I went to a different school but I had heard about Controlling Chaos from a couple of friends who had gone to see you guys at a couple of parties. They were telling me about how phenomenal the band was so I decided to check it out. It was at a party at Manic's house that I saw you guys for the first time and I was blown away, I mean it was something special. I mean I had to fight my way through people who were absolutely hammered and higher than than the clouds in the sky to get to the front but you guys were amazing. The songs, the riffs, just everything was great. After you guys had got done playing it was like two in the morning, I was getting ready to go home when I was approached by this blue hedgehog. It took me a moment to realize that it was Sonic, the guitarist for Controlling Chaos but when I did I kind of fangirled. After that I found out how nice and down to Earth of a guy he was and we started dating a couple of days later. We saw each other whenever we could, he didn't want to anyone to know that we were dating because he said his parents didn't want him to date until after high school, which I thought was weird but we kept it a secret. We did this for over a year and a half, I would always go to your shows and watch and cheer for you, I knew all the lyrics, I knew each song backwards and forwards, and I knew who all of you were because Sonic told me but I didn't know you personally. After that year and a half though of dating in secret, I started to get frustrated because we weren't seeing each other as much and every time we would make plans he would always come up with an excuse as to why we couldn't hang out. Then at the prom that year he told me he was going to invite me since I was from a different school, the school approved the invite and I got my dress and everything and I was so excited." Tears began to form in Amy's eyes as she began to tell the next part of her story, Shadow watched and listened intently as she continued.

"Then at the last minute he told me that he had fallen sick and that he wasn't going to go to the prom. I was devastated, my date had cancelled on me and I had gone and prepared myself for this big night, the biggest night in all of my years in high school. I found out though that he had lied to me, one of my friends called me wondering where I was and I told her Sonic was sick and that he wasn't going to be able to take me. She told me that Sonic was there at the prom, dancing with Sally, the most popular girl in our grade. I was infuriated, and I made my way down to the high school. I went off on Sonic and I poured the punch bowl all over him and cried my way all the home until I fell asleep. I was so heartbroken and I later found out that she wasn't the only one that he cheated on me with. He was cheating on me with countless girls, that's why he wanted our relationship to be a secret, because he didn't want anyone to know that he was with me while he was with these other girls. I was so stupid in believing him, I vowed that someday he would pay for doing that to me, he would pay for everything." Amy fell silent, cutting herself off before she could say more about Sonic, there was more to her story but she felt as though what she had told was enough for now. Shadow remained silent, he had listened to her story the whole time and it was quite a sad tale.

I guess me and her both have a bone to pick with that faker, Shadow thought angrily at the fact that the blue hedgehog had not only screwed him over but also the pink hedgehog sitting across from him.

"So you knew us, but why did you not talk to us afterwards? We could have kicked the crap out of him for that." Shadow replied, as Amy wiped away the tears in her eyes, laughing a little bit at Shadow's response.

"I know you guys would have, but I didn't want to ruin your guys' friendship. You had such a good thing going as friends and as a band. I didn't want to break that apart." Amy answered as Shadow scoffed.

"Yeah, too bad that it didn't last that long afterwards." Shadow stated as the room once again fell into silence. After Amy had finished wiping her tears away she looked back at Shadow who just had his eyes shut, waiting for Amy to regain herself.

"Alright, I'm good. Sorry about that." Amy apologized as she began to eat a little bit of the lasagna that was starting to grow a little cold.

"My next question is, when you and I sang, I couldn't help but notice how beautiful your voice was, were you in a band? No one just sings like that without singing for someone somewhere." Amy blushed at his compliment before setting her fork down, she finished her food before answering.

"Actually, yes I was. I mean, we weren't that popular but I was in a band. I was inspired by Controlling Chaos enough to go on and form a band in college. I met some wonderful people on campus and eventually Blaze, Rouge, Tikal, and I went on to jam and form a band by the name of the Sophomore Roses. The name came from the fact that everyone but I was a sophomore in college but they always included me so they took their grade plus my last name and bam! We had a name. We played at a couple of parties around campus. Mostly playing Motley Crue, Joan Jett, Cinderella, Tesla, all sorts of hair metal basically. We had a couple of originals that we played too but for the most part we did covers. After college though we kind of broke apart and went on to go and live our own lives, Blaze got pregnant and got married, Tikal went on to become a lawyer, and Rouge went on to go and perform in another band in L.A." Shadow was surprised by this information this girl is one story after another what else is she hiding from me?

"I knew you were in a band. I'm surprised to see that you aren't off performing elsewhere with another band with talent like yours." Amy smiled at his compliment, she put her head down to hide the scarlet red her cheeks were now turning.

"I didn't want to be in another band because I wanted to pursue my dream as a journalist, but now I have another dream." Amy responded as she looked deeply into Shadow's crimson eyes.

"What's that?" Shadow questioned, but before Amy could answer a light knock was heard from outside her door. Shadow sat upright, a confused look on his face as he turned to the pink hedgehog.

"Who is that?" Amy was trapped, there was no escaping this, she had to tell the truth now or never.

"You know how I said I have another dream to pursue?" Shadow nodded his head, eagerly awaiting to hear her response.

"Well this is it, I want to help you become more famous than Controlling Chaos ever was, I want you to succeed and I want you to prevail when others thought you couldn't. I want to be by your side through it all, but I know that you and I can't do this alone. I called someone to help us out with this." Amy began walking towards the living room and once she made her way to the door she turned back to Shadow who had a confused look still on his face. He didn't know what to think of what was going on. Amy opened the door to reveal a white bat in tight black skinny jeans and a black motley crue t-shirt. The bat smiled smugly and winked at Shadow, who was staring at her from the kitchen.

"Hello, Amy."

"Hello, Rouge."

A/N: And that does it for this Chapter! Hate to leave you hanging but this is where the story will leave off for now! Until next time, leave your thoughts and reviews and I will have the next chapter soon!


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